Clouds in the Sky
by EriLenx07
Summary: In which a girl meets a skylark during her scarce time outside of her magical, gilded cage and things aren't quite the same ever again. Fem!Harry/Hibari.
1. Chapter 1

" _Freedom...only those deprived of it know what it really is." -Anonymous_

Harriet Potter is a great many things.

She is the Girl-Who-Lived.

She is a hero.

She is a freak.

She is strong.

She is a Gryffindor- she is brave.

But she is not free.

Harry has always been tied down by something, everything.

When she was young she had been- still is- to the Dursley's, subject to their every whim and desire. She had been tied by the chains of their fear- forced into her little cupboard and made to do their menial tasks like a servant. They subjugated her- tried to make her into less than what she was.

When Harry first entered Hogwarts, it should have been better. She should have been able to do what she wanted, but alas she had only entered a more gilded cage.

It _was_ better, of course, but now her chains came not in the form of fear but in expectations- she was not the _little freak_ anymore, but now she was The Girl-Who-Lived. She had to be the best of the best, she had to be the savior of the wizarding world. She had to live up to all the books and expectations of her adoring fans- she had to be as clever as Lily Evans and as daringly charming as James Potter.

Even her friends had images for her to live up to- Hermione expected her to be the ultimate paragon of goodness and even Ron saw the visage of the Dark Lord's bane before he ever saw Harriet Potter.

Hermione tried, really, she did, but Harry knew not to expect too much from her best friend and she had long since given up on ever fully shedding the picturesque views Ron held for her.

The bottom line still remained- Harry was always caged. She was always traveling from one cage to another, from Number Four Privet Drive to Hogwarts to Number Twelve Grimmauld Place.

And that, perhaps, is the reason why she cannot take her eyes off of _him_ at this present moment.

Of course, Harry is not the only one staring at him.

Aunt Petunia had sent her out to buy the groceries- apparently not even her ever-growing magical powers were enough to save Harry from her chores. She had had a few pounds left over, just enough to buy herself some tea at a local cafe without arousing too much suspicion.

She had gone to one of the cheaper cafes of Little Whinging- a small, quiet place that served a more eastern selection of teas. There hadn't been very many patrons present at the cafe, but there was one in particular that had caught everyone's eye.

He was of clear Asian descent, with much sharper features than the beautiful Cho Chang and eyes a lovely shade of blue-ish silver. He was tall, easily towering over Harry's small form.

However, it wasn't his beauty that had truly caught Harry's eye like it had in the case of the cafe's other occupants.

No, what has entranced Harry is the way he moved.

Harry had always thought that you could tell a lot about a person from the way they moved.

Aunt Petunia, for example, moved as though she was some kind of a spoiled queen- with snobbishly exaggerated steps and her chin held far too high on a neck far too long.

Dumbledore, on the other hand, moved with experience. Genial and quiet in his steps with a certain weary tension that could only be obtained through countless years of blood and war.

Snape, the old bat, moved with what Harry could only describe as shame. His head was held just a bit lower than what one would expect from a prideful Slytherin, his steps weighed down by what Harry thought to be some sort of loathing- for the alternative was only too human for such a man. _Sorrow_.

This man (boy?) was an elegance of an entirely different sort.

Each step he took as he picked up his order- simple jasmine tea- was taken with the utmost deliberation- not even an ounce of energy was wasted.

He moved as though he knew himself to be the most powerful in the room- like a predator who could strike fear in the heart of whomever he so chose.

 _Like a carnivore surrounded by a pack of helpless herbivores_.

But most of all- he moved as though he had freedom in its greatest form.

There was nothing tying him down- he did as he pleased. His eyes betrayed only cool confidence but Harry thought that she could see something more- dominance, control and so much more that she couldn't quite put a name to.

Harry wasn't quite sure how long she had been staring at him- certainly not as long as her fellow admirers.

But, of course, _she_ would be the one to be noticed.

For it was then that their gazes met, cloudy-silver clashing with emerald-green, and Harry wondered if Voldemort really was so scary after all.

 _ **Dedicated to the lovely Natripper- to brighten up her stressed days and to thank her for brightening mine.**_


	2. Chapter 2

" _True freedom is always spiritual. It has something to do with your innermost being, which cannot be chained, handcuffed, or put into a jail." - Osho_

* * *

Harry likes to think that she's good at reading people. People rarely ever said what they wanted, after all.

Like when Ron would say that he was fine with whatever had happened when he was really not- when he was really burning with jealousy and self-righteous anger. It was all in the eyebrows and the set of the jaw, you see.

The Dursleys are yet another example of the importance of body language. If Uncle Vernon took heavier steps than usual and his fingers were twitching at his sides then he was more likely to go get a drink or two. That was a good thing to know- Harry liked knowing when to stay away and when to stay near so that he wouldn't have to keep shouting for 'the freak' to do something or another.

Hermione too. If she was biting her nails or her lip then Harry knew to comfort her or to ask what was wrong, but if her eyes were just slightly glazed over in thought and she was playing with her hair just a bit too much then Harry knew that she should leave her friend to her much-desired books.

The bloke in front of her?

He was _curious_.

His head was tilted ever so slightly as his piercing gaze captured her own. He held no indications of letting her gaze go- he seemed like the type to hold onto it for no other reason than because she looked so entirely enraptured in _him_ and not anything- anyone- else.

The possessive type, it seemed.

However, there was also something about looking into his eyes, in stealing his gaze for herself, that exhilarated Harry beyond belief.

For here was this man, this beautiful man, who was looking at _Harry_ because she is _Harry_ and not because of something she had done when she was hardly even a year old.

He was not looking at the scar carefully hidden behind her bangs. No, he was looking at messy black curls and emerald green eyes, at a too-small form with too-big glasses.

Harry almost wished that he would never look away.

But then, hypocritically, she became aware of her cheeks feeling as though they had caught fire and dropped her gaze in her embarrassment.

The thought occurred to her that she probably looked the way Lavender Brown did when the other girl was mooning over the various males that populated Hogwarts.

It was not a pleasant thought.

Her heart hammering in her chest, Harry turned to the counter. It was a complete coincidence that she ordered jasmine tea- she was not doing it because of the handsome stranger whose eyes had not yet left her.

It was not because her mind was set on him and his terribly lovely features, nor was it because of the way his mere existence made her feel at this very moment.

It had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that it had been his order of jasmine tea that had allowed for her to watch his graceful movements- no, that sounded _far_ too creepy.

(She was _not_ Colin Creevey, thank you very much.)

It was just because she wanted some jasmine tea.

(Or so she told herself, at least.)

She shot another glance at him- it was hard not to. Which was okay, she wasn't the only one staring at the exotic stranger.

He looked just a tad- okay, maybe a bit more than a 'tad' bit- amused at her course of actions.

Harry's glance turned into a glare. This was absolutely _not_ amusing.

He raised an eyebrow in response, a glint of a challenge in his eyes. _Do you really think you can scare me, little animal?_ they asked.

Harry 'hmph'd under her breath. She was plenty scary- he just didn't know it.

Harry didn't think that was possible for him to look any more amused than he already did- he proved her wrong.

Purposefully looking away this time, she was _not_ his source of entertainment, Harry's attention was instead brought to his hands.

A person's hands could tell an observer about more than just a personality- they told a life story. Harry's hands, for example, told of bitterly hard work done with too little experience with their callouses and cooking-scars. Hermione's hands were clearly that of a bookworm- soft and delicate and littered with paper cuts, whereas Ron's were the clumsy tools of a not-quite matured boy, but were beginning to change and become those of a more mature young man.

His were very nice hands, with long fingers that Harry might have associated with delicate wand-work had she not known him to be a muggle- most of him was indeed very nice, and no, she was _not_ turning into Lavender Brown- but what caught her attention was the beautifully ornate ring resting upon his finger.

It was as elegant as it was gaudy, though it also held a strange sort of subtlety that Harry had a hard time describing. It was as though it had been made for him and only him, though she could not fathom why she thought so.

The ring looked familiar enough; Harry thought that she had seen something similar to it before.

And then it hit her.

" _Are you married?_ "

* * *

 **Oh my gods. I cannot believe how amazing this fic's reception turned out to be- seriously. This is insane. Thank you all so much!**

 **On updating schedules- I don't think this will have much of a schedule. I really just write whenever I feel inspired to do so, but if I do end up making a set updating schedule then I'll let you guys know.**


	3. Chapter 3

" _Just as the great oceans have but one taste, the taste of salt, so too there is but one taste fundamental to all true teachings of the way, and this is the taste of freedom." — Buddha_

* * *

If someone had decided to write a list of places where Hibari Kyoya did not want to be right now, then Little Whinging, Surrey would likely be somewhere at the top of it- right behind 'anywhere within ten miles of Rokudo Mukuro'.

Hibari hardly even knew _why_ he was here- or to be more specific, _how_ Sawada Tsunayoshi had managed to convince him to do this.

Something about a paperwork-free excursion to Namimori in the near future, which is probably worth Hibari's current headache.

The assignment was simple in theory- go to the main base of a mafia family- that just so happened to have decided that a small town in England would be the _perfect_ base of operations- and negotiate territories and alliances with them.

Now, normally such a task would not have fallen to him. However, it seemed that all of the usual go-to options were unavailable on this particular date.

It was just his luck that all the other Guardians had been away on that particular date.

" _Kyoya, I'm really, really sorry about this but you're kinda my only option here,"_ Sawada had pleaded.

" _No."_

" _...I'll schedule an extra vacation to Namimori this year._ "

" _No."_

" _A_ two week _extra vacation to Namimori this year?"_

" _...fine."_

Now, it should be noted that Hibari is perfectly capable of taking a vacation to Namimori on his own without any sort of permission from his Sky.

However, it is also important to note that such a trip would not free him from his responsibilities as the leader of the newly formed Foundation, nor would it keep him from having to deal with those annoying herbivores demanding that he come back every other second. There is only so much that Tetsuya could do on his own before Hibari had to step in, after all.

A sanctioned trip, on the other hand, was free of all such obligations. Such a trip allowed for him to temporarily give his subordinates authority over the organization; i.e. it let him shove off all of his paperwork onto them so that his signature wasn't technically required for anything.

It was far less annoying and much more convenient, so it would be _very_ stupid of him to pass up such an opportunity.

Running the Foundation was an entirely different game than the Disciplinary Committee had been. For one thing, there was _much_ more responsibility involved. His subordinates had to be more than just simple thugs- they had to be skilled mafiosos that could hold their own for at least a few minutes against even himself. Furthermore, the fact that it was an official organization with ties to the Vongola meant that he also had to learn to play the games of politics, which, unfortunately, could not be played with mere intimidation tactics as he had quickly learned.

The mafia was like a jungle- filled to the brim with carnivores worth his note and challenges for both his body _and_ his mind. Though he would never admit it aloud, he was actually quite satisfied with his new lot in life.

Yes, he may be just a bit more tied down by this life. But that didn't mean that he couldn't do what he wanted, when he wanted to. Anyone who tried to change that would be _bitten to death without mercy_.

He _enjoyed_ watching his 'powerful' enemies flounder about with mouths agape as they realized that they had been outdone, outsmarted and utterly defeated by a nineteen-year old and his fledgeling organization. He _loved_ watching the realization dawn on them; the realization that in this world he was the one at the top of the food chain and that they are but the poor little grazers at the very bottom.

Though, this time might just be the exception to that little rule.

This famiglia, the Brunnegem, were very well aware that they were herbivores. They knew that he could kill them within a minute. They knew that their delicate necks wouldn't last a minute against his tonfas. The glimmer of nerves in the upper echelon's eyes was telling enough- they knew just how easy it would be for him to bite them to death.

It would have been simple to just terrify them into signing the alliance-renewal contracts and leave, but _no, of course not_. These herbivores actually had spines. Weak ones, sure, but they were there.

The blunt truth is that they actually did have one over on him (not that his pride is very happy with that little tidbit). These people may have been weak in mind, but they did have influence. Too much influence and territory. And they also knew full well exactly how necessary this alliance was to the Vongola- the Brunnegem could get away with declining and shutting off negotiations just fine, but the Vongola could not.

With the underworld changing as it was, the Vongola needed to have a firmer foothold in England- the center of all these uprisings. Power was shifting, but no one quite knew how it was happening.

And even if this wasn't an issue, then there was also the fact that Brunnegem's Italian territory directly bordered upon the Vongola's territory. There _had_ been an alliance between the two groups but it was tentative and unstable, and recently expired on top of all that.

If he did the sensible thing here and ridded the world of these worthless, greedy rats then he risked starting a war between the Vongola and whatever factions of the Brunnegem remained organized enough to attack.

While the Vongola would certainly come out on top, especially with the Foundation and admittedly the Varia by their side, not only would such a conflict serve to distract them from more important things but it would also exponentially increase his workload.

Hibari already had enough paperwork hampering time that could be better spent training or biting herbivores to death. He did not need to make it any more annoying for himself.

They were just as aware of all this as he was. Hibari had to play by their rules or there would be consequences.

He _hated_ playing by the rules of others. Especially by the rules of those who were unworthy of even his very presence.

Sawada will pay for convincing him to enter this situation. (Even if it _was_ Hibari's own choice to do so.)

Because of him, Hibari was now stuck with _seven_ interspersed meetings for 'good luck'. Meaning that he probably wouldn't be back in Italy until late in the summer.

He had very seriously considered just leaving and letting some other Guardian handle this once they came back from their varying assignments.

But of course, one call from Sawada had put a damper on that. It wasn't that he was weak enough to be swayed by anymore bribery or anything of the sort.

No, it was that he had _never_ heard Sawada sound so stressed in the entirety of their years of acquaintance. The little animal was at his breaking point- he was being spread too thin by the mysterious power shifts occurring across the world and the absence of the rest of the Guardians was also taking its toll upon the seventeen year old Decimo.

( _And maybe the property damage from Hibari's last fight with Rokudo was just a bit too much to handle.)_

Sawada had sounded desperate, more desperate than he had sounded since the very beginning of their involvement in the mafia. For this alliance to work out and for there to be no further problems. He was tired and almost-defeated and something in Hibari _ached_ at listening to his Sky in such a state.

And so Hibari found himself staying in England for a longer-than-acceptable period of time.

Of course, it wasn't all that terrible.

For one thing, there was this one little cafe that he had discovered while exploring the town for the first time.

The tea there suited his tastes very well and certainly made his stay much more tolerable than it would have been otherwise. It was small and quiet as well- hardly any crowding to deal with. While the staring of the local patrons was rather irritating, Hibari also knew that it was to be expected. He was, after all, a foreigner in a small town- it would be more strange if he _didn't_ get stared at all the time.

It was on his third or so visit that things began to get interesting.

The excursion started as it always did.

He ordered his favored jasmine tea and dealt with the curious stares as he waited by the counter. A younger Hibari may have bitten them all to death just for this minor irritation, but this older, more experienced version had a bit more patience.

Only a bit, though.

The chimes on the door rang, signaling the entrance of another customer as he went to pick up his tea.

It was a girl, small and lanky with wild black curls and startlingly green eyes covered by too-large glasses- an appearance that reminded him of the little cow that was waiting for his 'Kyoya-nii' to come home back in Italy.

It was endearing, the way she was staring at him with such an oblivious attraction. She probably didn't even notice how obvious she was being.

Her stare didn't bother him as much as the others. He always did have a thing for small and cute things.

He met her stare on a whim- he could have just continued looking over the proposed tonfa upgrades that the blonde gearhead had sent him, but something told him that this would be a much more amusing course of action.

She did not disappoint.

Her connection to Lambo Bovino melted away from his mind, replaced by an image of Sawada Tsunayoshi. For while he could clearly see the beginnings of a schoolgirl crush in her eyes, he could also see so much _more_.

There was some kind of a fire in her eyes- restrained, resigned but still burning with the strength of a Dying Will. Stubborn, determined, analytical.

He wondered what they would look like if it was set loose upon the world. Her eyes were those of an omnivore- not quite at the top of the chain but also not weak enough to be called an herbivore. She could be so much more, he thought, and it would be beautiful to watch.

There was potential. So much potential. She reminded him of Sawada in the beginning- an herbivore that could easily blossom into a carnivore.

Her eyes widened and she dropped her gaze. It seemed that she finally became aware of the cherry red blush upon her cheeks, he noted in amusement.

"Jasmine tea, please," the girl ordered. Her voice was pleasant, a soft, accented sound that anyone could appreciate.

The fact that she ordered the same thing as him did not escape him. Was she really so taken by him as to base her own decisions of his?

A herbivorous action.

Though, it was obvious that she was not a civilian. She seemed too wary in the way she stood and stepped- as though someone could attack her at any moment. She clearly wasn't entirely comfortable in her own skin, but she did not move with any sort of inexperience.

If he had to liken her to anything by this first impression then it would be a deer- soft in appearance but capable of lashing out in a flurry of horns and hooves when backed into a corner.

The girl made a noise of protest and glared at him, his lack of effort in hiding his amusement clearly grating on her nerves.

It was funny, the way that she thought that her glare could intimidate him into looking away. It almost made him overlook her previous careless action.

She huffed again, her emerald gaze dropping to his hands. Her gaze homed in on the Vongola Cloud ring, recognition dancing across her eyes.

She was in the mafia, then. Unexpected- she did not seem like the 'mafioso' type. But then again, appearances were deceiving.

" _Are you married?_ " she blurted out.

Hibari choked on his tea.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **I probably overdid it with the exposition here, but oh well. I had fun with it. A bit too much fun, but fun nonetheless.**

 **I'm going to be honest here. The response this fic has been getting has completely** _ **floored**_ **me. Thank you all. So much. Especially for all of your kind reviews- every one of them makes my day a little bit better!**

 **Though, there is one that I absolutely have to address personally.**

 **Dearest goldengirl555,**

 **Woman. I literally see you three times a day in person- must you remind me to update The Other Side of The Spectrum in a review for this beauty? Geez. It's coming- you know my perfectionism.**

 **Love,**

 **The poor girl that you totally adore with all your heart and soul that will probably be in desperate need of your pre-calc homework come Monday Morning.**

 **Cheers!**

 **(Edit- I forgot to proofread this beforehand. Whoops? The grammar should be a bit better now.)**


	4. Chapter 4

" _Freedom is rare in the universe, as it is in your own world. This is the great truth that you will have to face, in contrast perhaps to your expectations, hopes and wishes." — Life in the Universe_

* * *

If a Death Eater showed up to 'Avada Kedavra' Harry right this moment, she isn't quite sure that she'd be dodging it so eagerly.

After all, she did just ask a random _muggle_ stranger if he was married. Because of some over-the-top ring on his finger. Never mind that he looked like he couldn't be any older than twenty and muggles hardly ever married so early.

This wasn't wizarding society. There wasn't anything magical about this place, nor was there anything magical about him.

And judging by the way that he choked on his tea at her words? Yeah, she was definitely wrong…

Good job, Harry. Excellent conversation starter, mate.

"Um," she began hesitantly. "You're okay, right?"

She received a withering glare in response, very nearly shrinking back. If Malfoy's similarly grey - though nowhere near as pretty - eyes had been capable of glaring in such a way then he might have been as successful at intimidation as he thought himself to be. "I am fine."

"That's good. I'm, um, sorry about that," Harry apologized, straightening herself and gathering her bearings. She couldn't be taken aback by a mere glare- she was better than that. "That was a stupid question."

He nodded, acknowledging her words. "It was. Do not do that again."

His English was lightly accented, she noted. A foreigner, then? She didn't exactly know all the residents of Little Whinging. Though, she probably would have remembered someone like him.

Harry nodded. "Harriet Potter," she felt the need to introduce.

He didn't react. "Hibari Kyoya."

Harry reveled in the lack of response, in the way that his expression didn't change.

"You're relieved," he noted. The _why?_ went unspoken.

Harry shrugged. "I don't know. I'm tired, I guess. Of people knowing me."

They said that strangers made the best conversationalists. You can tell a stranger anything in the world and it won't come back to bite you in the arse.

Perhaps that was why Harry's lips felt so free?

"You've just contradicted yourself," Hibari pointed out. "You gave me your name. I know who you are now."

Harry pondered that thought. He was right - even a mere name could tell you a lot about a person. "But you only know _me_ , not what the me that everyone else does," she paused. "That doesn't make much sense, does it?"

"No," he said, taking another sip from his tea. His lips were quirking up, as though he found her words to be especially amusing. "It makes enough sense."

"Oh," she replied smartly. "Okay."

Harry was then called to pick up her own tea.

They drank in silence.

It was the best time Harry's had in months.

* * *

It was the third dinner she'd spent at Number Four Privet Drive since the end of her fifth year.

Aunt Petunia had decided to cook herself this time, leaving Harry to merely do the day's cleaning.

Harry was served a small, meager portion befitting her petite size and station within the household. Dudley and Uncle Vernon ate like kings, their plates piled high with rich meats and cheeses. Aunt Petunia prepared herself a fancy-looking salad - to maintain her beautiful figure, she liked to say.

Harry could not find anything about Aunt Petunia beautiful.

Dinner was well underway when the woman decided to speak up. " told me that you were having tea with the foreigner, girl," Aunt Petunia began. "With _our_ money. I didn't give you that money for you to enjoy yourself with. You ought to be ashamed of yourself!"

Harry nodded. Ashamed? She only spent four pounds. Dudley spent more in an hour than she did in a month.

Besides, it wasn't as though she had never done something like this before. The Dursley's weren't very frugal with their money so she could easily get away with pilfering a pound or two every now and then. She managed to save up about a hundred pounds in that way - just enough for a summer's worth of tea.

Of course, she didn't say as much. She knew how they would respond.

Dudley laughed loudly, chunks of food flying out from his mouth. The action was much more annoying and disgusting on him than it was on Ron, Harry decided. "The foreigner has horrible taste in people. If he had any _real_ taste at all, then he'd be with me and my friends! We're the ones to know in town."

The usage of the word 'the' did not escape Harry. It seemed that everyone knew of Hibari Kyoya's presence - but at least he hadn't been speaking with Dudley.

Not only would she feel bad for him for having to suffer through the pig's company, but it also felt nice. Having something that Dudley didn't, that is.

Uncle Vernon froze, narrowing his eyes at her. "The _foreigner_? His name. What was it?" When Harry did not respond for over a second, he demanded, "answer me, freak!"

Uncle Vernon was getting angry. Had he met Hibari before? "Hibari Kyoya." There was no use in infuriating him any longer - that wouldn't end well for Harry.

The large man visibly reacted to the name, flinching so far as to rock his chair. Something akin to fear glimmered in his eyes- almost as much as what she recalled seeing in the squinty things when Hagrid had first shown up.

Uncle Vernon tried to cover the expression up, tried to put on a brave face, but Harry saw right through him. "O-of course, monsters like you would band together! Never speak to him again, you hear me?!"

Hibari, a monster? Was she wrong about him, then? About him being a muggle? No, she couldn't be, Vernon would not know of him if she was.

Harry nodded, biting back a retort. "I understand."

The portly man turned back to his family. "That goes for you too, Petunia, Dudders. Don't even look at that man. He's, he's," he struggled to find the right word, "-dangerous."

* * *

Harry cheerfully greeted Hibari Kyoya at the cafe the next day.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Still floored by the wonderful response to this story- thank you all so much!**

 **By the way, if you'd like to read an excellent KHR fanfiction then I would highly suggest Natripper's lovingly written** _ **Inside The Facility**_ **, whose second chapter is currently in the works.**

 **Ciao!**

 **Edit, 9/17/17: Fixed a few mistakes and added a bit more content.**


	5. Chapter 5

" _Do not call chaos freedom, for this is not freedom. Do not think because others do not limit you that you are in an exalted state. Realize that your freedom is to enable you to find your purpose and to fulfill it." — Steps to Knowledge_

* * *

Harriet Potter's records were all fake.

Hibari was nothing if not thorough, especially when it came to acquaintances of his. Harriet Potter was no exception.

It was disgusting- how easy it was to tell. The records said that she went to some reform school- but that very same school did not even have her on their attendance lists, much less house her during the year.

Every 'fact' contradicted what had already been established in previous, more legitimate files. Teachers' notes and observations were all written in the same style- as though they were all done by one person.

The most that he could get about her with any degree of certainty was that she is an orphan living with her mother's relatives and that something had happened when she was eleven that lead to her essentially vanishing without fail during the school months following that year.

It was little. Too little. Hibari _hated_ being uninformed.

However, finding the source of the discrepancies was mere child's play. Her male guardian, Vernon Dursley, was a mid-level member of Brunnegem. Harriet Potter's records weren't the only product of his sloppy work- the swine's own son, a pig by the unfortunate name of Dudley Dursley, had the records of a fit, athletic academic accompanied by the photograph of an obese herbivore whose eyes displayed an obvious lacking in intelligence.

Potter, on the other hand, was interesting. Her records were all garbage, covered up and filled with anonymity, and yet she displayed the attitude of someone who knew their own fame and was utterly done with it.

He had seen the same attitude from both Sawada and the Bronco many times before with his own eyes- it was not one of someone who was the mere talk of the town.

(" _You know, Kyoya, I don't think anyone's called me Tsuna all day. I don't think I like that."_ )

(" _The next time I hear the name 'Decimo', I'm going to be sick, Kyoya. Why can't they just let me be...me?"_ )

Yes, he knew _exactly_ what that look, that posture, that tone were.

But the question remained- _who_ exactly was she?

Only one answer came to mind- now he just had to confirm it.

* * *

"My uncle doesn't like you, you know."

Hibari was unsurprised that the girl decided to join him for tea again. She seemed to find his presence too novel to resist last time, after all.

Hibari 'hn'd in acknowledgment.

Potter seemed to find that answer unsatisfactory. "No, it's more than that. He's _afraid_ of you," she said, emphasizing the word 'afraid' as though it was something urgently important.

"Then he is not as lacking in brain cells as I had expected," Hibari drawled dismissively.

Potter frowned. "But, why?" she questioned, as though she didn't already know. As though she was entirely uninformed, as though she wasn't even in the mafia.

Hibari filed that thought away for later- it still didn't make sense. "You already know," he said in lieu of an answer.

Potter's face was a mask of perfect confusion. "No, I don't?"

Hibari flicked his hand out, allowing a thin veil of Mist Flames to surround them and keep observers from eavesdropping on their conversation. He may hate illusions with a passion, but that didn't mean that he couldn't appreciate their uses.

"Playing innocent doesn't suit you, _shikā_."

Panic began to build in her eyes. "I, I don't-"

It seems he hit the mark.

"No one else can hear us," he interrupted. "Speak freely."

Her eyes widened ever more at the words, looking around wildly until he decided to be kind enough to let her see a small distortion, indicating the illusion's location. "You cast a privacy ward?"

Now it was Hibari's turn to be confused. "I cast a _what_?"

"A privacy ward! You know, a spell to keep people from listening in!" she explained in an alarmed, higher pitch.

"A spell?" he questioned incredulously. "Is that what your famiglia calls _illusions_ now?"

"That isn't an _illusion_ ," she protested hotly. "That's _magic_."

"Your herbivorous famiglia is even stupider than I thought." Magic? Really? What, did they live under a rock?

"Famiglia? What the bloody hell is a 'famiglia'?" Potter demanded. "And what kind of a wizard are you, to call magic an illusion? Even my _muggle_ family is better than that!"

"What kind of a mafiosa doesn't know what a famiglia is?" he retorted, before pausing as he processed her latter words. "Wizard," he said, tasting the word on his tongue. Was it a British thing to be so grossly uninformed?

"Mafiosa?" she repeated disbelievingly. "You think I'm in the _mafia_?"

"Obviously." His patience was beginning to wear thin. "Your records are rubbish, your uncle is a mid-ranking member of the-"

"There's a _wizarding mafia_?! _Uncle Vernon_ is a member of the _wizarding mafia_!?"

"There is no such thing as a _wizarding_ mafia. There are no wizards." Why was he even having this conversation? He thought her to be better than this.

"What do you mean, there are no wizards! You're a- _oh_. You're a muggle," she said, her eyes widening with realization. "But that's impossible! You just used magic!"

There was that word again- _muggle_. "I did not," he said for the nth time. "I used an _illusion_ ," he said slowly, putting emphasis on the distasteful word as though he was speaking to a brainless herbivore.

He was careful not to use Flame terminology at this point- it seemed that the Brunnegem liked to keep even their favorites ignorant.

"But that's not- _oh Merlin_ ," she protested, panic rising in her voice once more. " _I just broke the Statute of Secrecy!_ "

Now _this_ piqued Hibari's interest. Deciding to test the boundaries of what she will say, he rolled his eyes as though he was certain of what she was speaking of. "You did not break Omertà, shikā."

"I'm not talking about O-whatever!" she snapped.

"Explain."

"Don't order me around!" Emerald eyes glared at him vehemently, as though she was trying to impress the seriousness of the situation on him whilst scolding him with only a single look. She had very expressive eyes, it seemed.

Hibari was unimpressed. "I will do as I please. Now explain."

"I _can't_ ," she stressed. "If you don't know, then you don't know."

It seemed she was unaware of her uncle's involvement, strangely enough- hell, she was unaware of the mafia itself. There was absolutely no sign of her lying either. The emotion was too genuine. But then why would they go through such trouble to keep her hidden?

And there was also this 'wizard' lunacy to consider. Magic, a 'statute of secrecy'? What, has he just stumbled across a secret society of wizards and witches?

….that would be explain a lot, actually. Not the 'magic' part, but her being a part of a separate, possibly as strange as the mafia, society would explain the records and disappearances.

"Rules were made to be broken, shikā." Except his, obviously. "Tell me."

"No," she denied. "What does that even mean? _Shikā_."

"Deer."

When was the last time someone had denied him so easily? Hibari found himself feeling almost...refreshed. Outside of the Vongola's upper tier and the Cavallone- and even then- hardly anyone had ever had the guts to outright say no to him and hold onto that opinion for over twenty seconds.

"Oh. Wait. Why are you calling me _dear_? That's just so…" She nearly shuddered, probably at some sort of an unpleasant reminder. She had taken the word for its other spelling, it seemed. Hibari nearly snorted- why would he of all people ever refer to someone as _dear_? He was _not_ the Varia's flamboyant healer.

Hibari rolled his eyes. "Wrong word."

Potter's cheeks flushed over in embarrassment- a decidedly endearing look. "Oh. I'm still not telling you anything," she said hurriedly, trying to cover up her mistake with pure stubbornness.

"Yes, you will."

"No, I will not!"

* * *

 _Two hours later…_

" _Tell me."_

" _Never!_ "

The cafe owner counted the money the couple spent on tea today. It was a _lot_ of money.

Eventually, the man stood up and sent the girl a glare that lacked any true edge. "I _will_ find out, Potter."

The girl merely shook her head. "Nope. And call me Harry, Hibari."

"Fine. I will have you tell me everything tomorrow- you've already wasted too much of my time."

The girl smirked. "Challenge accepted."

And as the strangely-silent couple that had spent their entire date glaring at each other walked away, the cafe owner could just _feel_ her wallet getting heavier with every mouthed word.

 _Ah, young money- I mean love. Love._

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Thank you all so much for your kind reviews, follows and favorites. You guys seriously brightened my ridiculously stressful week. Honestly- screw AP exams.**

 **Also- dearest Natripper, I hope this chap makes you feel at least a little bit better, love.**

 **Ciao!**


	6. Chapter 6

" _To finally make peace with your past, you must be building a new life. To finally be able to understand your past and to use it positively and constructively, you must be building a new foundation. To find freedom from the fears and anxieties that haunt you, you must have a new engagement in life." — Living the Way of Knowledge_

* * *

Hibari was perhaps the strangest person Harry had ever met, aside from her dear friend Luna Lovegood and Albus Dumbledore, of course.

For one thing, there was his excessive use of animal metaphors. Harry got the feeling that it probably made more sense in Japanese- but then again, Hibari didn't make much sense.

Then there was his nickname for her- _shikā_. The simple Japanese sounded just right with his smooth tenor and though Harry liked hearing him saying it, the meaning behind it was… painful.

Deer. It meant deer. Her father's animagus form had been a stag- so she had come to associate the words _deer_ and _father_. At one point it had been a comforting comparison, but now it was anything but.

Harry had stopped associating the word _father_ with James Potter during the summer of third year. That was when she first received letters of thoughtful- nearly overprotective, but not quite- concern, awful jokes and tales of epic adventures. When, for the first time in her life, she felt loved because she was _Harry_ and not for any other reason at all.

That was when James Potter's face no longer came to her mind when she thought of a father. No, his face has long since been replaced by the visage of Sirius Black.

She wasn't ready to start thinking about Sirius Black again.

She wasn't ready to think about how every time she tried to activate her two way mirror, her hopes would be crushed (even if she didn't quite know what she had been expecting each time).

She wasn't ready to think about how she was the one responsible for his loss- how if she hadn't been so _naive_ then maybe she'd be at Number Twelve Grimmauld Place right now, laughing at ridiculous stories in the arms of the only father she had ever known.

She wasn't ready to think about the fact that Sirius Black is dead.

Hibari had a way of dragging these thoughts to the forefront of her mind at one moment- then whisking her mind away from her in the next.

Her conversation and subsequent embarrassment had born several fruits.

Firstly, she now knew that Uncle Vernon was actually a member of the local mafia family that helped man one of their more legal income sources. He was also the one to mess with her school records- and Dudley's too, go figure- for his own benefit.

Harry would be lying if she said that she hadn't laughed for several minutes straight when Hibari's nose wrinkled in distaste at the mention of the _disgusting swines_.

Vernon wasn't anything special, not by a longshot, but he had a high enough status that made her put his earlier words into consideration.

He called Hibari a _monster_ , a word that is usually only reserved for wizards and witches. Hibari, however strange that 'illusion' ability of his was ( _how did he even do that_ ), is most certainly _not_ a wizard. He didn't even know what a _muggle_ was!

In fact, all she could get out of him is that he's part of the mafia. When she asked about the British mafia, he merely raised an eyebrow and called them all annoying herbivores.

He's part of the Italian one, apparently.

Harry then pointed out that that was terribly cliched and received an elbow jab to the gut in response. It wasn't quite hard enough to bruise, Hibari had a very precise control over his own strength, but the movement was so smooth and refined that Harry would hardly see him as anything aside from a trained fighter.

She tried asking him about what he did for a mafia, subtly fishing for an answer as to who he really was and why Vernon would consider him to be just as bad as she was.

It was very hard for anyone to be as bad as she was, in his eyes. Hibari must really be something special to earn _that_ status.

Unfortunately, the nineteen year-old- only three years older than her- saw through her attempts right off the bat and merely smirked in response.

" _Information for information, shikā. I won't say a word until you tell me what_ I _want to know._ "

It was a battle to maintain the Statute, as much as was possible at this point- Hibari was

 _very_ good at the information game. But she wasn't too bad either, in fact she had even gotten some personal information out of him over the past week and a half.

She learned that he hailed from a town in Japan known as Namimori, that he had some acquaintances ( _family_ , the flickers of affection in his eyes said) in Italy, that he had a pet bird and a hedgehog he called his own.

Realistically, Harry knew that he was only giving her hints of information for his own benefit- making it easier for her to talk, she assumed.

But that didn't mean that she didn't enjoy their chats- their battles of wit. She _loved_ the way that he only saw Harry and that, perhaps, is the reason why she was so vehement in not letting him know anymore secrets of magic.

Because maybe, just maybe, if he never knows then he will never stop seeing only her.

* * *

" _So_ , I've recently tried out this brand new blend of tea and I was hoping that my two _favorite_ customers would try it out for me~" the cafe owner, Nat, said in her usual, sing-song greedy voice. Harry could practically see the dollar signs in her eyes.

Hibari nodded. Harry was suspicious.

The cafe owner slid two mugs of steaming hot tea across the counter. Hibari reached out for a cup, carefully bringing it to his mouth and blowing across its surface.

Harry felt like she was watching a drug deal unfold.

"Wait," she said firmly, eying the mugs. Hibari looked over at her, asking _why are you interrupting my tea, herbivore_ with his eyes. Harry figured it was 'Hibari' for a pout.

"How much are these?" Harry questioned slowly.

"Five pounds each," the woman answered cheerfully, as though the amount was perfectly normal for a cup of tea.

" _What_? No, that's way too much, I can't-"

"Acceptable," Hibari interrupted, placing the aforementioned money on the counter.

Harry looked at him incredulously.

Hibari shrugged. "It's _tea_ ," he said, as though that explained everything. Nat nodded enthusiastically.

Harry felt the strangest urge to bang her head against the wall.

" _Wait,_ just _when_ exactly did I say you could pay for me?!"

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Because apparently you people like Owner over there, she is now an official constant presence. Congrats!**

 **And yes, she is named after NatRipper. Blame her, not me.**

 **Also-**

 **ONE HUNDRED REVIEWS, HOLY CRAP, THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!**


	7. Chapter 7

" _Destiny is real. And she's not mild-mannered. She will come around and hit you in the face and knock you over and before you know what hit you, you're naked- stripped of everything you thought you knew and everything you thought you didn't know- and there you are! A bloody nose, bruises all over you, and naked. And it's the most beautiful thing."_

― _C. JoyBell C._

* * *

Hibari, though he enjoyed their little game, was a very impatient man.

The little shikā's stubbornness was refreshing, yes. But it only made him want to know more and more with every tidbit he squeezed out of her- about this _magic_ and the society it brought with it.

It was funny, really- the way that she thought that she could out maneuver him in their game of words. Tonfas and Boxes may be his weapons of choice but that doesn't mean that his tongue is any duller than an assassin's knife. Harry had nothing on the politicians and mafiosos that Hibari has outsmarted before he ever learned the steps of the mind's dance known as politics.

What he found was like something out of an awful fantasy novel- uncreative in its world-building choices, though Hibari supposed that the cliches had to come from somewhere.

A sarcastic comment about witches and brooms unveiled the existence of a sport played on the cliched things. A discussion of dark dungeons- how they got to that topic was anyone's guess- revealed that potions were brewed in cauldrons and a casual conversation about the clothes he was wearing let him know that robes took the place of suits and ties. Her reaction to a quip- _what will you do now, shikā, point your wand at me and say chant your silly words?_ \- told him that magic wands were indeed a thing and not a mere magician's tool.

However, she was not too bad, for a beginner at least. Hibari still knew nothing of the societal structure these wizards and witches employed, nor of their influence on common society, which is exactly what he wanted to know most.

Where were they centered? Could they control people? And more importantly- _how will he fight them?_

These questions burned through his mind and he couldn't ignore them any longer. He _had_ to get the upper hand, even more so than he already did, and get these answers from the girl as soon as possible.

Which of course, brought him to his current situation.

* * *

" _Vernon Dursley._ "

If his shikā was going to continue to play coy with him, then it was only natural for Hibari to take what he could from the next available source of information.

The swine in question was already breaking into a cold sweat- his disgusting face turning red from the fear rushing through his veins.

 _Such a pathetic herbivore_.

He really wasn't worth even a second of Hibari's time. It was just too bad that he had information that Hibari desired and that Hibari really couldn't bite him to death just yet.

"Y-you, you aren't supposed to be here," the swine managed. That was true- they were at the Grunnings building just after hours. Hibari just didn't care.

"You are in no place to be telling me where I am and where I am not supposed to be, swine," Hibari drawled dismissively.

The words seemed to ignite some sort of anger within the herbivore. How stupid- as if he could do anything to Hibari. " _Swine?!_ " the obese herbivore thundered in what was akin to a pig's squeal to Hibari. Just significantly more irritating. "Just _who_ do you think-"

"I know exactly who you are," Hibari interrupted, "-and I could not care less."

"You're a _guest_ of the Brunnegem! Cornering a member as important as myself! Disrespectful Italian wre-"

It was as if his intelligence exponentially decreased with every word.

But then again, that statement implied that the swine had any brain cells to begin with, which he didn't, so that was probably inaccurate.

"Japanese," he corrected. He did not feel the need to be associated with Italians anymore than he already was. "Recall, herbivore, who you are and who I am."

The walking fat took a step forward in what he probably assumed to be an intimidating manner, but really Hibari found the action to be rather boorish and laughable. As if imitating a sumo's steps could possibly scare _Hibari Kyoya_ of all people.

The swine opened his mouth, likely to spout more prideful rubbish that Hibari had no patience for, but Hibari swiftly continued before his poor ears could be subjected to anymore of it. "I may be a 'guest', but do not forget how _simple_ it is to break your neck with only one finger. How easily I can throw you down so that your own fat breaks your spine. How it will only take me one moment to _kamikurosu._ "

His favorite threat was intoned in Japanese for a simple reason- all things had a fear of the unknown, herbivores especially. Promising the man death in words that he could never hope to understand was a very efficient way to ensure that he finally shuts that oversized mouth of his and answers Hibari's questions.

Dursley blanched. "You wouldn't-"

"Wouldn't I?" Hibari cut off smoothly. "I doubt that your weak famiglia would start a conflict with me over someone as insignificant as you."

Hibari's words seemed to get through to the thick swine, finally. He gulped, his lip quivering in fear as the truth of the situation dawned over his anger once again. "W-what do you want?"

"Information. You will answer my every question."

The swine nodded.

A bloodthirsty smirk graced Hibari's lips and the herbivore nearly fainted in fear of the true carnivore he stood before.

* * *

"So, _shikā_ , tell me about this _Hogwarts_ of yours," Hibari purrs, the very image of a satisfied predator who has finally cornered his prey.

It is now Harry's turn to blanche.

(A cackle could be heard behind the counter as the most expensive tea on the menu finds its way to the delightful money cows- _lovers._ Lovers, duh.)

* * *

 **A/N**

 **I'm sure you guys have figured this out by now, but the more reviews I get the faster the updates come. Seriously, you people make my day.**

 **Also, here's a heads up.**

 _ **THE SECOND COUPLE OF THIS FIC IS BEING INTRODUCED SOON, REJOICE!**_

 **I'm actually kind of curious to see if anyone'll guess who it is.**

 **Ciao!**


	8. Chapter 8

" _The soul would have no rainbow, had the eyes no tears."_

― _John Vance Cheney_

* * *

Harry's heart skipped a beat.

Mornings, she found, were never particularly nice. Especially ones that began with letters from the Ministry of Magic.

It should not be said that Harry inherently disliked the Ministry- _she did_ \- as they were the ones that governed over the magical world and at least _some_ good came of their laws and the like.

Never mind the fact that they let Death Eaters go free, that they sent Umbridge to Hogwarts, that they didn't believe her about Voldemort, that _Sirius died there_ -

Ahem.

Harry wasn't sure what they wanted from her. She wasn't sure she wanted to know either.

They probably wanted to Obliviate Hibari. He was, after all, however strange, a muggle. Non-magical.

It didn't matter that he was her friend, nor did it matter that he was the only one she had ever really made on her own.

Rules were made to be followed, not broken, no matter what Hibari said.

Shakily, Harry took the letter from the messenger owl and unfurled it, her eyes drinking in the already-expected words.

 _Harriet Potter_

 _Number 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey_

 _We regret to inform you that you have broken the Statute of Secrecy. The infringement, speaking of magic to a muggle, though indirect in this case, is a serious offense that can result in the breaking of your wand and/or an expulsion from the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. However, in light of the events that have transpired in the Department of Mysteries this summer, we have decided to let you off with a warning for now. An Obliviator Squad will be arriving shortly to relieve the muggle of their memories._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Arnold Peasegood_

 _Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes_

The paper fell from Harry's hands.

They were going to do it.

They were going to Obliviate him.

They were going to _take him away_.

She would never argue with him over menial things, or scold him over his tendency to pay for overpriced teas. They would never get to play their game of verbal hide-and-seek again.

Harry will never feel his silver gaze sweeping over her again- nor would she ever listen to his smooth Asian accent against the harsher sounds of the English language. He would never again call her _shikā_ or tease her or _anything_.

Because he would be gone. He will have forgotten about her, perhaps even be put under a compulsion to leave the country and return to Italy.

That probably wouldn't go over too well with him- Harry could already see Hibari struggling against and ultimately overcoming the pull of the magic against his mind. Hibari was not meant to be controlled by anyone- he was the _free_ one, after all.

He would probably never speak to her again and she would be alone once again in this miserable town with only Hedwig for company.

Harry's heart plummeted at the thought.

She didn't want him to leave her- she didn't want to lose the one good thing that had happened to her since _that_ day to the magic that had once been her saving grace.

Harry steeled her resolve. She had to at least see him one more time before he was gone forever- just like the clouds that had hung over Little Whinging only a day before.

 _Lingering and lingering before finally vanishing from the sky as though they had never been there in the first place._

* * *

Harry was _very_ taken aback when the first words Hibari said to her when she arrived at their favored cafe were about _Hogwarts_ of all things.

Hadn't he already been Obliviated?

Was he _trying_ to make this worse? How did he even know that name? She had never mentioned it before!

"Stop," the word slipped out of Harry's lips before she could even register what she had said.

Hibari raised a single, delicate eyebrow. "Stop?" he repeated blankly, as though he hardly believed she would have the gall to say such a thing to him.

Harry sank into her seat. "Stop," she confirmed. "They're going to erase your memories."

Hibari snorted. "They can try, _shikā_. Do you really think me so weak as to actually _let_ them do so?"

Harry nearly laughed. Classic Hibari Kyoya. Of course he wouldn't take this seriously. He was far too prideful and self-assured for that.

"You don't have to _let_ them do anything," she insisted. "You can't block a spell!" Well, he can't. She could. Maybe she should just stay with him all day?

No, that was 'crowding'. Hibari would _never_ stand for it. And he'd probably somehow manage to find her under her invisibility cloak too. He was crazy like that.

"Whoever said anything about blocking?" he returned. But how could someone dodge spells coming from at least _six_ wizards at once?

"You can't dodge forever," she replied flatly. He was still entirely unconcerned.

There was just no getting through to this man, is there?

"Stop worrying over nothing and drink your tea," he commanded, gesturing to the tea that mysteriously appeared in front of her as they were arguing. The air shimmered and cleared again, indicating that the privacy illusion was gone and that this conversation was over.

" _And try some scones too!_ " sounded a voice from the cafe's kitchen.

Despite herself, Harry couldn't help but retort "I don't have money for any of this!"

"I do," Hibari supplied helpfully.

Harry groaned and dutifully ignored the evil cackle from behind the counter.

 _Who was the witch here again?_

* * *

It would be okay, Harry reasoned. If Harry had managed to befriend him once, then she could do it again.

That was what she told herself as she walked into to the cafe, tears prickling against the corners of her eyes.

She wasn't ready to give up this short but sweet friendship. She wasn't ready to give up being Harry and not The Girl-Who-Lived.

Harry was a Gryffindor. Gryffindors were not defeated so easily- whether the opponents were Slytherins, Umbridge or the Ministry itself. She would fight for her friendship- no matter how painful it would be to get to know him all over again.

It would be worth it, she decided.

Mentally steeling herself, Harry opened the door to the cafe. But nothing could have prepared her for what greeted her behind the glass.

Hibari was sitting there at their usual seats, casually as always.

There was not one cup of tea in front of him, but _two_.

" _Shikā_ ," he greeted as though nothing at all had happened. "You were taking too long so I ordered for you. Sit."

Harry was frozen in place. "B-but, the _Obli_ -"

"Those herbivores," Hibari acknowledged distastefully, "-were boring. All they did was wave their wands and expect me to simply sit still and let them into my mind."

Harry's jaw dropped.

"So, I bit them to death," he continued without a care in the world.

Harry sat down in her chair numbly. A quiet, disbelieving chuckle escaped her throat as her lips moved of their own volition. "That probably sounds better in Japanese, doesn't it."

Hibari's lips quirked up. "Maybe."

This man, Harry decided, is insane.

And she liked that, a lot. Especially if it was what kept him with her.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Sickness really does put a damper on inspiration, doesn't it? Thankfully some ideas came to me today so I managed to get this out. Thank you guys for all your kind reviews! Nat's also enjoying all the praise her character's getting.**

 **P.S. No one's guessed who our next couple's going to be! How sad... and no, Natalie and goldengirl555, you two don't count.**

 **There's no need to worry about the next couple or any others taking up Harry/Hibari time by the way, the whole point is for me to practice balancing other characters out with my mains. If anything then it'll just make for longer chapters.**

 **Ciao!**


	9. Chapter 9

" _When I hear somebody talk about a horse or cow being stupid; I figure it's a sure sign that the animal has somehow outfoxed them"_

― _Tom Dorrance, True Unity: Willing Communication Between Horse & Human_

* * *

Wizards, aside from his _shikā_ , were idiotic herbivores by nature, it seemed.

Subtlety was lost on them entirely. It was _very_ hard not to notice rustling coming from nowhere, wooden tips appearing seemingly from the air and indents in the grass where there is no weight to be making them.

All of this combined made for a _very_ easy dodge.

It didn't take much to avoid the bursts of light- tilt his head there, bend down to pet that squirrel here and all was good.

Over time, Hibari noticed that the spells were becoming more frantic- really, if they wanted to keep their secret so badly then they could at least try a little harder. This was getting boring and _so_ _very predictable_.

Disgusting- he would even prefer dealing with Rokudo over this silly game.

Yes, it was _that_ annoying.

After a few hours of this it became increasingly clear that his pursuers were entirely done with him.

That was good. He's pretty done with the herbivores himself.

Luring them into an isolated alley, Hibari turned to face the idiots that dared try to mess with his memories.

"Kyoya Hibari," one intoned, stepping out of the shadows in a pitch black cloak with heavy, dramatic steps. This was Vernon Dursley all over again, it seemed. "It is imperative that we remove your memories at once. Cease your resistance or else this _will_ get ugly."

Hibari smirked in response, flicking out his tonfas. Finally. " _Kamikurosu_."

Their screams were _much_ more pleasant than their tactics.

* * *

"They threatened to snap your wand over something so minor?" Hibari questioned incredulously as he put down his tea for the moment. Were there no intermediate punishments?

These wizards were getting more herbivorous by the second.

Harry shrugged in response. "I think they're just getting desperate at this point. To maintain secrecy- that is. They probably just don't want to deal with muggles on top of everything else."

Something still didn't right with him- or perhaps he just didn't like the thought of them punishing the little animal? That was possible too- they were unworthy of even speaking to her, much less imposing their idiocy upon her. "Have you angered them before, _shikā_?"

The little animal paused to ponder his question. The silence stretched on for a minute or two before she responded. "I might have… once or twice. Maybe a bit more than that. But none of those times were my fault, I swear!"

"Good."

She blinked. "What."

Hibari finished his tea, gesturing for the cafe-owner to refill his cup. Harry looked like she was going to strangle him for his 'unnecessary spending'.

He wondered what would happen if he actually did set her off. Was the little animal hiding a pair of fangs? Or would she attack him with words instead of with hooves?

"Good," he repeated. "It would be disappointing if you were to always comply with the rules of the unworthy. I prefer you this way."

A hot blush began to spread across her cheeks, much to his pleasure. "I just told you that it isn't even my fault most of the time!"

"I wonder," he drawled in response, a smirk tugging on his lips, "-who it was exactly that revealed the existence of this _magical_ world of yours to me?"

Harry looked away, a pout forming on her thin lips. It was a rather cute expression, he noted.

Perhaps he should make her do it more often.

"This is the exception," she insisted. "I don't actively try to get into trouble, thank you. Trouble just so happens to like me. A lot."

Hibari looked over at her imploringly, not feeling the need to actually tell her to elaborate. His desire was obvious enough.

She got the message, thankfully. Elaborating could be such a bother- which is probably why his Sky was so exasperated with him half the time. Probably. "Nope, I am not digging myself any deeper here."

Hibari rolled his eyes. He'd get it out of her eventually- she liked telling him stories, no matter what she said, and he enjoyed listening to her speak. She was just so… _expressive_. "How did they even find out?" he questioned instead.

The girl bit her lip, frowning thoughtfully at the question. "Hermione, a friend of mine, once told me that a spell can be cast upon a word or a phrase to notify the caster every time it's used. But… I don't know if it could be used on an entire topic or if it could be cast conditionally."

"Nothing is ever so precise, _shikā_. Someone is watching us."

Emerald eyes widened dramatically. "But you said-"

Hibari cut her off swiftly. "No one can hear anything that I do not let them hear."

Then how did they know what the pair was talking about? The illusion was suspicious, sure, they were not his strong point and he did not know enough to make bystanders hear things that were different from the actual conversation. But that still could not have produced enough evidence for a government to go this far…oh.

Of course.

He had been sloppy in his interrogation of the swine.

Hibari had been meticulous in ensuring that there had been no listeners to their conversation, if it could have been called that, but he had failed to account for a magical listener and decided against using an illusion.

He had been using them often enough as is and he didn't feel the need to use another one without any real need.

That was a mistake- they must have magically concealed their presence and he had been none the wiser.

"Then how did they listen in?" Harry demanded.

"Your swine of an uncle has loose lips." And he had been careless, but she didn't need to know that.

"You were speaking with _Uncle Vernon_?!"

"You weren't talking fast enough," Hibari explained as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. Which it was.

Harry leveled him with a glare. Hibari nearly grinned. "You are an insufferable prat," she informed him.

A chuckle escaped his lips at the sight of the little animal puffing up her chest as though she could face a carnivore and _win_. "Perhaps. What will you do about it?" he challenged.

Harry looked at her already cooled cup of tea and back at him. "This," she said.

And then she poured the tea over his head.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Wow, I'm on a roll today, aren't I? Thanks for the reviews everyone, I actually got a lot of ideas from them. A lot of people seem to want Hermione/Gokudera, which is cute and all but I have other plans for them.**

 **Ciao!**


	10. Chapter 10

" _Rise above the deceptions and temptations of the mind. This is your duty. You are born for this only; all other duties are self-created and self-imposed owing to ignorance."_

― _Sivananda Saraswati_

* * *

In hindsight, Harry _really_ shouldn't have been surprised when Hibari tackled her down, almost playfully (?), after she spilled the cooled tea over him.

Her heart was racing as they crashed to the floor in a tangle of limbs. Emerald eyes met blue-silver ones and electricity rushed down her spine.

But no - Harry would not let him win so easily.

Harry struggled against his stronger grip, attempting to regain control of the situation.

Hibari did not relent.

His breath ghosted against her ear. "Did you really think that you would get away with that, little animal?"

Harry shivered, but she did not falter. "No. But you aren't going to get away with this either, Hibari."

"Oh really?" he chuckled. Merlin, why was this man so good at flustering her? It should be illegal. It would be a _much_ more valid reason for the Ministry to come after him. She could see the headlines already- _Deadly Arson, Muggle Sets Girl-Savior's Cheeks on Fire?!_

"Yes, really!"

"Ohoho, I hope you two realize that every chair you topple is another ten pounds to your bill! But don't let that stop you- just remember that frantic lovemaking sessions on the floor cost an extra hundred!" interrupted the _lovely_ (greedier than Lockhart) Miss Nat.

Harry screamed.

* * *

Harry wasn't sure about how she felt about either of the two letters sitting in front of her.

One is a letter from Professor Dumbledore, detailing that he will come by Number Four to pick her up and take her to the Burrow.

The Burrow, Harry had thought, was like home. It was loud and warm and crowded and she _loves it so much_.

In spite of what Ron insisted, it was _Harry_ that should be the jealous one, not him. And she was.

She had been jealous of him for having siblings and parents - for being welcome in his home and for growing up loved and not as a beaten servant.

If it had been in her nature, Harry would have hated him.

Her every visit to the Burrow was bittersweet- wonderful while it lasted but leaving her yearning for more and more of something she knew and understood was not hers. It would never be hers- she is not a Weasley, no matter what said.

Her hair was not red and her eyes were too green. She was too small and too quiet, too unused to the rambunctious love running wild throughout the household.

Harry stopped being jealous after her third year - when she got her very own taste of parenting and love. But it was just that, a taste.

Now, the summer before sixth year, she had lost that warmth. She was the orphan - again.

She didn't think that she wanted it again either - not quite yet. It would be a betrayal, she thought, to Sirius, if she was to go to the Burrow now and accept the fatherly affections of Arthur Weasley as they had always been offered to her. He wouldn't think that way, Harry knew, Padfoot had always said that she deserved all the good things in the world, but the heart rarely ever listened to the mind.

There was also Hibari to consider - her first and only non-magical friend that had never even _heard_ of the Girl-Who-Lived. He made her feel free - free of the expectations of everyone in Wizarding Britain and free of all the burdens that came with her title. Free of Voldemort and free of the cage that he had built for her.

Harry didn't want to leave Hibari.

And yet, she had not written to Professor Dumbledore to reject his offer.

 _Does that make me selfish?_

Perhaps it was just as Aunt Petunia said. Harry was a selfish child that only cared for herself and did nothing but burden the 'good, hardworking people'.

She wanted the best of both worlds, it seemed, without having to make a choice. Even if she would probably hate herself for a good, long while if she went to the Burrow, she still wanted to do so - to be loved for just a little while.

How hypocritical.

She wanted to be loved as Harriet Potter, the witch, and yet she also wanted to be seen as Harry, the little _shikā_ that drank tea with Hibari Kyoya every day.

The second letter came from Luna Lovegood, a good friend of Harry's in a younger year, detailing that the airy blonde would be in the area for a visit in the upcoming days and looks forward to seeing Harry. Something about hunting down a 'Blibbering Humdinger'?

At first Harry had been puzzled by the announcement. Why would Luna want to visit her over the holidays anyways, strange creature hunt or not? Surely she had better friends to be associating with, ones that had more time for her during the school months and had spent more time getting to know her.

But then it dawned on her that the Ravenclaw _didn't_ have any friends like that. Merlin, Luna's only friends consisted of Harry, Ginny and Neville! Ginny, who was actually rather popular in her year and had many friends of her own and quiet Neville that usually just stuck to himself out of nerves more than anything else.

It was no secret that Ravenclaw House ostracised Luna. _Loony Lovegood_ , they called her. They hid her things away and talked behind her back- excluded her in group projects and mocked her uniqueness.

Luna must have a very lonely existence, Harry thought, almost as bad as what Harry suffered through with the Dursleys, just without letters from friends to keep her smiling or thoughts of an elegant foreigner to get her through the day.

With a suddenly heavy heart, Harry penned a reply to Luna saying that while she cannot promise a sleepover or anything of the sort (she had never had a sleepover either, Harry noted with a pang. Such luxuries were for Dudley alone), she would be delighted to have Luna around for a few days.

If Luna was to be coming, then Harry could not go to the Burrow. Luna deserved this, she knew. Perhaps she could even introduce Luna to Hibari? They were both strange enough to get along just fine. Harry didn't really like the idea of sharing him, but Harry was not selfish enough to stop herself from quashing down such thoughts.

Penning another two letters, a polite rejection to the professor and an apology to Ron, for missing out on this little vacation.

It would be okay, she decided. She saw the Weasleys more than enough already and this way, she would not feel guilty about accepting their affections either.

It would be just fine.

* * *

Professor Dumbledore came on that Friday anyways.

"You're playing with fire, my dear girl," he warned in regards to Hibari. Apparently he really did scare the shite out of an Obliviator squad. Several, in fact.

Harry shrugged. "There are worse things to be playing with than fire, professor." Like lives and curses, like many wizards had been doing recently.

Dumbledore also introduced her to the Professor Slughorn, of whom had been an avid fan of her mother. Harry was sure that she would have been delighted to meet the man a year ago or so, but her now-hardened heart and wiser mind had a different thought about him and his popularity-seeking ways- _herbivore_.

Damn Hibari and his influence.

* * *

"I think I finally understand what you dislike about herbivores so much," Harry confided in her companion.

Hibari sipped his tea, a newer, more expensive bland that Harry couldn't stand to look at for over five seconds. "Only now, little animal? I had thought you to be smarter than that."

"Oh shut up."

Hibari's smirk said more than a thousand words and Harry was suddenly _very_ tempted to spill another cup of tea on the arse.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Holy crap, we've passed the 200 hundred review mark! I have no words, honestly. This has made my shitty week infinitely better- thank you! Reading every one of the reviews- and I do mean** _ **every**_ **one of them- puts a smile on my face.**

 **By the way, two people have guessed correctly on the new couple's identity! Good job!**

 **You'll see who the second person is next chap, promise.**

 **Ciao!**


	11. Chapter 11

" _But when we sit together, close,' said Bernard, 'we melt into each other with phrases. We are edged with mist. We make an unsubstantial territory."_

― _Virginia Woolf, The Waves_

* * *

For the nth time that day, Hibari cursed every drop of affection he held for his little animal of a Sky that led him to this very moment.

Unfortunately, Sawada had been experiencing ever-increasing pressures from the Vongola's higher ups as well as allied Famiglias to secure this particular alliance- the one that _he_ is currently negotiating for.

As the Guardians that specialized in diplomacy- Yamamoto and Sasagawa- were still in Russia, Tsunayoshi did the next 'best' thing to ensure that the alliance meetings would go smoothly- increase the intimidation factor.

In simpler terms, he sent Rokudo to England.

At first glance, this looks like a recipe for disaster. (Actually you could probably glance at it about another ten or twenty times and it would still look like a recipe for disaster- Hibari did _not_ like pineapples.)

Hibari had obviously protested this atrocity- he did not need nor appreciate that nuisance's assistance in anything at all.

It didn't matter that Rokudo was a bit better at manipulation than he was and might be able to get them a more desirable outcome- the principle still stood. He was just fine on his own and he did _not_ need the other Guardian to trespass on his time with his shikā.

He had obviously voiced these protests to Sawada.

" _Kyoya, do you really think that I don't know that? Hell, do you really think that I_ want _any of my Guardians to be anywhere more than a mile away from me right now? I'm doing this because I have to, and because I trust you two not to behave like five year olds!"_ Sawada had snapped.

Hibari had to appreciate that- it wasn't every day that the little animal worked up the courage to speak to him like that.

" _Sorry_ ," Sawada had apologized sheepishly after the spiel. " _But you get what I'm saying, right? I just want you guys home soon, even if you are giant pains in my neck._ Both _of you."_

Hibari had rolled his eyes in response. " _You're going to regret this, little animal._ "

" _Yeah, I know, just don't make me regret it_ too _quickly."_

* * *

Hibari already wanted to make Sawada regret his decision.

If Hibari had been drawing attention to himself when he first arrived with his mere presence, then the pineapple was drawing twice as much attention in half the time with his ridiculous hair and outlandish style.

Reconnaissance expert, his arse.

"I must say that this little cafe isn't too bad. Surprising, since you were the one to find it and all," the annoyance commented idly, sipping at his large coffee. "Though your taste in drinks is still awful. Why have plain tea when you can enjoy a delicacy like this one?"

"If I were to replace all the sugar in that drink with salt," Hibari pondered aloud, "-would you shrivel up and die, herbivore?"

"Kufufu, possibly. Though that _does_ seem a bit too crafty for someone like you to try," Rokudo dismissed. "Brute."

"It also seems that pineapples are supposed to be unable to speak, but look at you now," Hibari returned. "Pest."

Rokudo's eye twitched. "You contradict yourself, skylark- though that is to be expected, words are not your forte. How can one be a fruit _and_ an herbivore at once?"

Hibari shrugged. "You are a walking contradiction. Natural selection should have done away with someone as idiotic as you a long time ago."

The pineapple tilted his head, putting a finger to his chin in mock thought. "By that logic, someone with a mind as animalistic as yours should have been dead long before you ever even learned to walk. This is, after all, a world of humans- not a jungle for the archaic to play in."

It was getting harder and harder not to just whip out his tonfas and bite the other male to death. Hibari deserves an award for this kind of patience, really.

Though Hibari knew the real purpose behind the intrusion- to scout out the area and see who Hibari had been making contact with, an admittedly intelligent course of action- that did not mean that he had to tolerate it for _too_ long. If he had to wait here any longer for Harry to come in, then he would simply leave and look for her himself. Rokudo wouldn't follow him that far- the man had other things to be doing.

Besides, the fact that they were just sitting around doing _nothing_ was a mockery of whatever relationship they shared. As much as he despised the Mist's presence, the man was one of the few worthy opponents around. Unpredictable and resilient, he had a way of keeping Hibari on his toes and that was exactly what Hibari needed, loathe as he was to admit.

Hibari was prideful, not stupid.

The facts that someone who presented an actual challenge to him was in his immediate vicinity and that he couldn't even _fight_ them because of the 'diplomatic issues involved in property damage' and 'the lack of solidarity it showed' were beyond irritating, especially because the logic was sound.

"You are wrong about that," Hibari informed him. "Our world is nothing more than a jungle with a silver lining- one that has already swallowed you up."

"Has it now," Rokudo mused. "I suppose, but didn't you know? It is only through the deepest pits of blood that _our_ world can be ruled." The word 'our' was said in a tone of grudging distaste, as though the Mist could hardly accept that he was a part of the mafia himself.

How herbivorous.

The door to the cafe opened and in came Harriet Potter, _finally_ , accompanied by an unfamiliar blonde with strange eyes. It was as though they were looking at everything and nothing at all, like a kitchen knife. Sharp on one side, and yet inexplicably unfocused on the other.

"Hibari," she greeted, a note of relief to her voice. She was late, by thirty five minutes, but that could be excused. Her presence was a positive influence on his mood- having her around was _much_ better than being stuck with only the pineapple.

" _Shikā_ , he returned with a nod.

Rokudo's eyes lit up in interest and Hibari belatedly realized that now _all_ of his fellow Guardians were going to be taking an interest in her.

That would be irritating, but he could deal with it so long as they didn't overstep their bounds.

"Oya, oya," the pineapple began in Japanese, teasing Hibari whilst simultaneously cementing his own place- _foreign, predatory_. Rokudo was not an actual herbivore, in spite of what Hibari liked to say about him. "So _you're_ the one keeping our skylark entertained, are you now?"

Harry regarded him cautiously. Good, Hibari thought. She knew how to recognize a threat. "I guess? Are you a friend of Hibari's?"

"No," both males answered simultaneously, flatly. Realizing their timing, they shot vehement glares at each other, Hibari's desire to murder the other exponentially increasing.

"They're friends," Harry decided. The blonde nodded. "The friendliest of friends, though it seems that they're attracting unwanted nargles. That isn't very good, you know. Hidden feelings excite them the most."

"What," Hibari said. Rokudo seemed to share in Hibari's confusion momentarily before realization lit up his heterochromatic eyes.

"Sprites," Rokudo explained for Hibari's benefit, as though he were a child, earning the Mist a jab to the stomach. Rokudo dodged, an irritating smirk decorating his face as he turned his attention to the blonde. "Nasty little creatures that spend their time irritating the psyche when they aren't feeding upon mistletoe. You have their name wrong, miss…?"

"Luna Lovegood," she introduced, pale eyes beginning to dance in excitement. "I'll have you know that I have their names just right. 'Sprites' is a very general term that can apply to many creatures, you see."

"Mukuro Rokudo," he introduced in return. "A simple addition of another word can clarify the identity of any other species," Rokudo dismissed. "These are more than common enough to be referred to as only 'sprites'."

"I disagree," Lovegood replied. "It's better to use a more specific name, nargles, because then you can't confuse them with the heliopaths, or with stroodle-tail fairies."

"You cannot easily confuse such different creatures," the Mist argued. "There is no point."

"Am I the only one who doesn't know what's going on here?" the little animal voiced.

"I know _exactly_ what is going on here," Hibari sighed. "A headache in the making."

"We're having a very important discussion about nargles," Lovegood explained unnecessarily. "You can't see them very well, I'm afraid. They don't like showing themselves very much."

Rokudo nodded. " _Sprites_ are tricky little things. Like these," he said, before flicking his hand and creating an illusion of small, strange winged deep blue creatures floating around Hibari's head. Hibari swatted at them reflexively, to no avail.

Lovegood made a sound of obvious delight and Harry's mouth was agape.

Hibari reached for his tonfas.

"But, _those aren't_ -" Harry began.

Rokudo cut her off swiftly. "Plenty of things aren't supposed to be real, girl." He turned to Lovegood. "We should continue this discussion elsewhere- those without the proper eyes cannot appreciate such topics."

Lovegood nodded enthusiastically. "That is very true. The right eyes are hard to come by without the right glasses."

"The right glasses?" Rokudo questioned curiously as they left the cafe, leaving Hibari and Harry in their wake.

The little animal turned to Hibari. "Do you know what just happened?"

"No," he admitted easily. He did, but the thought of the pineapple actually forming acquaintanceships without being dragged into them metaphorically kicking and screaming was disturbing, so he didn't think about it. "I don't want to know either."

Harry nodded in agreement and ordered her tea.

Yes, it was _much_ better when it was just him and his shikā.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Congrats to all who guessed it! I** _ **did**_ **consider pairing Luna with Gokudera, butttt Mukuro is my favorite character so the decision was already made before there was even a decision to be made.**

 **Thanks for all the reviews!**

 **Ciao~**


	12. Chapter 12

" _You praise man who has the ability to perform great actions._

 _I admire man who can deal with great pain and knows no despair."_

― _Toba Beta, My Ancestor Was an Ancient Astronaut_

* * *

"Wow, Hibari, you really give denial a _whole_ other meaning," Harry said, a sly Marauder's grin gracing her face as she teased her companion.

"I am not in denial over anything," Hibari snapped. "Stop saying such idiotic things before I bite you to death."

Harry giggled. "You're only digging your own grave here."

Hibari opened his mouth to respond before thinking better of it, his lips quirking into a triumphant smirk. "Or better yet, before I buy you a kettle of the spiced passion fruit tea."

Harry blanched. Not only was that her favorite tea- but it was also the most expensive on the menu. A new blend, she had only tried it when the cafe owner practically shoved it down their throats and absolutely loved it.

But then she saw the price and died a little inside.

"You wouldn't," she said, though she knew perfectly well that he would.

"Wouldn't I?" he demurred.

Harry _really_ wanted to smack that damn smirk off his face. She huffed instead. "Just because you don't know how to acknowledge a friendship doesn't mean I should suffer for it."

"Whatever I have with that pineapple is not friendship, nor is it any of your concern."

That was a lie.

Harry liked to consider herself an expert in the art of reading Hibari's body language. She probably wasn't, but it was a nice thought- to be able to say that you know someone you care about well enough to be considered an expert in all things _them_.

That was why it was so easy for her to see it- the way he looked so much more relaxed when Rokudo had been in the cafe. It wasn't an obvious change or anything- in fact, if she didn't spend so much time looking at him then she never would have been able to tell the difference. He was angrier, sure, but nonetheless his posture wasn't so tense, as though he wasn't expecting to be attacked at any moment.

Or more likely, as though he trusted the person he was with enough to let his guard down.

Of course, he had definitely looked ready to beat the crap out of Rokudo. That was more than obvious- but the teasing looks from Rokudo, Hibari's more relaxed posture, the banter that they had been in the middle of when Luna and Harry came in?

It all added up to one possible conclusion - friendly rivals. Or perhaps even siblings? That would fit, the animosity didn't seem malevolent.

"If it's not friendship, then it must be family," Harry concluded.

Hibari's eyes flashed in irritation. "It is not-"

Harry cut him off swiftly. "That must be nice, having people you trust and care for around so often."

"I'm kind of jealous, to be perfectly honest," she continued, her voice quieter than it had been all day. _Family_ …

Warm fur and loud redheads came to mind- and books and feathers and all sorts of nice things that reminded her of those she considered family. She didn't get to see them at all when she was trapped with the Dursleys- partially because she knew that she would get an extra beating for bringing other 'freaks' around and partially to avoid them having any contact with her 'family'.

She made an exception for Luna this time, of course, alleviating her friend's loneliness was worth a bruise or two.

Hibari remained silent, contemplating.

* * *

"I never thought I'd meet someone else that… _sees_ things like you do, Luna," Harry said honestly as the two girls sat at a park bench together. "Especially not in the muggle world."

It was getting late, Harry knew, but Luna still had another hour before she was to meet her father at a fairly close wizarding inn. Harry was enjoying this quite a bit, there was no need to be secretive like there was with Hibari (not that that worked out very well anyways) and there was just something about spending time with another girl that was just so appealing.

"Fate works in mysterious ways," Luna replied, a far off smile on her face. Harry always did have a feeling that she saw something different from everyone else, but to see it for herself through an illusionist's work? It was shocking. "Did you know that fate can be manipulated by certain spirits of emotion? Muggles call them...what was it again? Cupids?"

"I didn't know that Cupids were real," Harry remarked.

"There are a lot of things you don't know, Harry," Luna said wisely, an exaggeratedly serious expression on her face. "You don't read enough books, you see."

Harry giggled in response to her friend's jest. "Sorry, sorry, books and I haven't quite been working out since that time when Hermione's floating spell decided to stop helping her carry her load."

Luna was strange, certainly, but that didn't mean that she wasn't like everyone else- she could crack a joke or make a funny face. She was human, something that much of Hogwarts had a tendency to forget.

Luna shook her head in mock disappointment. "That's not good - the book faeries need to love you. You're very hard not to love though, I don't quite know how they manage not to."

"...book faeries?"

The blonde nodded gravely. "Temperamental things," she said, leaning in to whisper into Harry's ear. "I think your friend might be having an affair with one or two. Maybe even three!"

The two girls exchanged a look and burst into laughter.

"I hope you know they don't actually exist," Luna said as the giggles subsided. "Though...it would be nice if they did…"

Harry nodded, a grin firmly upon her scarred face. "I figured, that sounded a bit weird, even for you. I'm sure Hermione would absolutely love it if they did."

"They would make wonderful companions for her," Luna agreed. "Perhaps there would be an affair or two…"

"I dunno," Harry said, deciding to change the subject before it got too weird. "What about _your_ affair?"

Luna tilted her head in confusion. "What affair?"

"You were just dragged off by a pretty boy," Harry pointed out. "What was he like?"

Harry was very curious about the person that Hibari was so close to and it wasn't like she'd be getting any straight answers from the bloke.

"His words are as pretty as he is," Luna responded thoughtfully. "And he is the definition of a _true_ Slytherin," she continued, her voice taking back its usual, airier quality uninterrupted by laughter.

"A true Slytherin?" Harry asked unsurely. She didn't have very many good experiences with Slytherins- they were so often cruel to her and demeaned her more times than she could count.

Luna nodded. "Draco Malfoy would explode from jealousy if they met," she confessed.

"But… he's a muggle," Harry pointed out. "Why would Malfoy ever be jealous of a muggle?" Even if that muggle could cast illusions better than any muggle ever should.

"That's why he would explode into tiny little git bits," Luna answered cheerily. "After all, Mukuro has a tongue far more silver than his and a much more cunning mind."

Luna was oddly perceptive, Harry noted in her interactions with the blonde. She had been with the odd guy for two hours or so- more than enough time to figure such things out.

"Malfoy exploding over a muggle," Harry mused. "I'd like to see that happen."

"I think we all might," Luna replied. "Are you going to tell me about your lover, Harry?"

Harry choked on air.

"Mukuro and I had a lot of fun thinking up theories about your passionate affair," Luna continued, "-but its best to to hear such things from the source."

"I- um, I don't know what you're talking about," Harry stuttered. _Love affair?! It was only a crush!_

Luna carried on as though Harry hadn't even spoken. "We came up with some very interesting things- some are even confirmed facts! So please, I'm dying to know. Is it really true that he has a biting kink?"

Harry truly died inside at that very moment.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **I'd say I'm sorry for Luna's last line but I'm really, really not.**

 **Thanks for all the positive responses everyone! This took me a while to write, but once it got going,** _ **it got going**_ **.**

 **Ciao!**

 **Edit 9/17/17: How do I miss these issues? Gods.**


	13. Chapter 13

" _The illusion is we are only physical."_

― _Vanna Bonta, Flight: A Quantum Fiction Novel_

* * *

Hibari was _almost_ grateful for Rokudo's presence.

After all, so long as the pineapple held the blonde herbivore's attention, his shikā's would be focused solely on him. Hibari did not like sharing.

That still didn't mean that he was actually grateful to Rokudo or anything, the pineapple was still a general nuisance who desperately needed to be bitten to death.

Sadly, however, that would have to wait.

Harry glanced back at the pair in bewilderment. "I didn't know Luna was so knowledgeable about muggle fashions…"

"She likely isn't," Hibari told her, unsurprised that she was fooled by the illusion. It was, admittedly, flawless- complete with a lip-synced everyday conversation for the ears of any eavesdroppers.

The Mist made it look like childsplay, which to him it probably was. While Hibari, by choice, was only marginally proficient in visual illusions and mostly unknowledgeable in auditory ones, Rokudo was a master of the trade.

The little animal gave him a confused look. "But-"

Hibari did not allow her to finish speaking. "It is an illusion."

Her emerald eyes widened in surprise. "But, you could only make it so that we weren't heard!"

Hibari rolled his eyes. "I am no illusionist. I'm capable of them, yes, but it is not my area of expertise nor will it ever be. On the other hand, illusions are all that the pineapple is capable of."

"I am also capable of beating you within an inch of your life," Rokudo rudely commented from across the cafe. That privacy illusion is there for a _reason_ and Hibari found himself very irritated at the reminder that the more skilled illusionist could easily see through anything he did.

"It seems that your illusions have turned to delusions," Hibari remarked icily, returning his focus to Harry as he tuned out whatever irrelevant reply that escaped from Rokudo's lips.

"Oh… I see. I wasn't aware that you could do this kind of thing with illusions," she commented, a curious note to her voice as her mind's eye likely ran through a billion questions at a time. She thought quickly- he liked that. "So… what _do_ you specialize in, if it's not illusions?"

Hibari's lips quirked up- she is so easy to tease and gives him _so_ many opportunities. "That is for me to know and for you to maybe find out, _shikā_."

Harry immediately gave him the reaction he desired, lips curling into a cute pout and a spark appearing in her eyes. "That's not fair at all, Hibari. You already know _plenty_ about me."

"Then perhaps you should work on controlling those loose lips of yours."

"Perhaps you should work on that personality of yours, hypocrite," Harry shot back. "You expect me to tell you everything but then tell me nothing in return!"

"Yes, that is how this is supposed to work," Hibari informed her, amused that she had missed that obvious point.

"No, it is not! Haven't you ever heard of equivalency? You get back what you put in, and all?"

"This isn't chemistry, Potter."

"On the contrary, there's a _lot_ of chemistry," came the interruption from behind the counter. "Chemistry like that is best cemented over spiced passion tea and-"

Harry looked horrified. "Hibari! I thought you were muting us!"

"I stopped doing that about two minutes ago," Hibari admitted conversationally. The topic had been successfully diverted from sensitive matters, after all. "The pineapple's presence exponentially decreases my desire to use illusions."

The little animal looked ready to scream and Hibari did not bother hiding the smug smirk playing on his lips.

* * *

"So _that_ was the creature you're so fascinated with, skylark," Rokudo said in the lobby of their hotel. "I can see the appeal, but green isn't really my thing."

"Good," Hibari responded, annoyed over the fact that he had to be sitting here, so close to the pineapple, to make use of the wifi for his laptop. Internally, he cursed the urgent work that plagued him. "If you touch her I will bite you to death."

"So protective," the annoyance teased. "Does our little birdie have a crush?"

"No," Hibari responded without hesitation. "She is not yours to touch."

"Possessive," the other remarked. "Women these days don't like that type of thing very much- perhaps you should tone it down. Or maybe not, it likely won't make a difference."

Silver eyes narrowed at the pineapple. "What did you do, herbivore?"

Rokudo's smile turned mischievous as he answered with mock innocence. As if that herbivore was innocent of _anything_. "Me? Do something to your new love? _Never._ "

The pineapple narrowly avoided a tonfa to a chin. "Explain yourself. _Now,_ " Hibari said, lowly.

The Mist had the nerve to laugh at Hibari's demand. "Well, I didn't exactly _do_ anything."

" _Rokudo_."

"Fine, fine," the other man sighed exaggeratedly. "I _may_ have slipped a few things about you here and there in my conversation with little Luna. They've probably all made their way to Potter's ears by now, you poor soon-to-be-single thing."

His next hit was met with a trident, metal clashing against metal. " _What did you say_ ," Hibari hissed.

"Nothing _too_ believable," Rokudo reassured, though it did not reassure Hibari at all, "-really. But then again… these wizards do seem to have a liking for taking things literally," he said, pausing thoughtfully as the panicked hotel workers seemed to calm right down. "But, you did set yourself up to be labelled with a biting kink, you have to admit."

Hibari got in a _very_ satisfying hit to Rokudo's shoulder, reveling in the pineapple's hiss of pain. He was very tempted to say his signature catch phrase, but that was exactly what the Mist wanted and he wasn't stupid enough to fall for it.

"And those- ah, what were they called again?- Disciplinary Committee members of yours," he continued on, nicking Hibari's chest. Hibari got his stomach in return. "A bunch of tall, muscular boys, listening to your _every_ command, especially behind closed doors? Forgive me for making assumptions-" Hibari did _not_ "-or not, it doesn't matter. I don't actually care for your forgiveness."

Hibari made sure to show him exactly how much he didn't forgive the other by clicking out his tonfas' chain function.

"Say one more word and you will die," Hibari promised. He _had_ noticed the little animal being slightly more squeamish that day, but he had written it off as nothing.

This was not nothing. It would have to be cleared up _immediately_ , but even _Hibari_ thought that this was far too awkward of a conversation to initiate. Trust Rokudo to pull this kind of bullshit, the menace of an herbivore.

Ah well, awkward had never stopped Hibari before.

"Now, see, you're really digging your own hole here," Rokudo informed him. "Chains and spikes? _Really_? _Right now_?"

It seemed that Hibari would be breaking every promise of nonviolence he made to Sawada in the next half hour.

Oh well, he couldn't have actually expected either Guardian to be keeping those promises anyways.

"Yes, right now," Hibari said before continuing ruthlessly. "I'm sure you're enjoying that- you _do_ seem to have a thing for being chained up, especially underwater, pickled pineapple."

" _Die_."

It was a miracle that the hotel was still left standing, in the end.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Wow, we're almost at a thousand follows! Hmmm, that kind of achievement** _ **does**_ **demand some sort of celebration…~**

 **Thanks again to all the reviewers, as well as the favorites and followers. This chapter was a blast to write, so hopefully you all enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it!**

 **Ciao!**


	14. Chapter 14

" _Passion can transform the mind, body and spirit..._

 _Passion can align you with the wisdom of nature and the power of what is in your heart."_

― _JoLynne Valerie_

* * *

Neither the air conditioning nor the iced tea in her hands could save her from the blistering heat overcoming her body.

After all- only Harriet Potter would be wearing a long sleeved hoodie in the middle of a summer heat wave.

Her wrist itched- sweat trickled over _I Must Not Tell Lies_ and prickled the sensitive, marred skin. Her other scars weren't as fresh- coming from either Quidditch or her encounters with Voldemort.

This one, though a few months old, was created through magical means and liked to be far more annoying than even her more infamous scar was on a regular basis.

It was also the reason why she couldn't wear short sleeves.

How would she explain this one to Hibari? He would be _angry_ , so angry, at whomever did this to her. In all her time knowing the older male, she had never known him to be someone who didn't act on his every real impulse.

Hibari did not, after all, take well to harm coming to things he liked. She had learned that when Rokudo had caused him to drop his tea once- it had been a violent affair and Harry would be lying if she hadn't enjoyed the sight of the two men fighting. They were both just so beautiful in the way they moved- effortless, powerful, flawless.

He did things because he _could_ and he could definitely snap Umbridge's neck- if his lean arm muscles were any indication, at least. But- she wouldn't actually tell him who did it, so that would probably result in a pissed off Hibari being directed at the entire wizarding world, which is also probably not a good thing.

( _A small, unreasonable part of her was terrified that he might actually_ believe _the message behind the scar, that he would think her a liar, because that's all people ever did. They judged her by a scar and nothing more._ )

" _Shikā_." The low Japanese snapped Harry out of her reverie, turning her attention back to her companions. "Just _what_ possessed you to wear _that_ in this weather?"

Rokudo peered over at her from his seat next to Luna at the counter. "Hm, for once in your life, you may be onto something, skylark. She _does_ seem a bit dazed and those eyes are a bit glassy," he mused. "If she is possessed then it is certainly by someone I can admire - heatstroke is a very creative way to kill someone."

Luna's glance was far more knowing. "No, I think it's just a wizarding thing," she said, lifting her own sleeve-covered arm, though the material is much lighter. "We like our sleeves very much, you see. They protect against all sorts of creatures and maladies."

"I did not ask for your opinion, herbivore," Hibari snapped, ignoring Luna's statement.

"But aren't all humans omnivores?" Luna questioned curiously. "Not that herbivores aren't very scary, they are. Haven't you heard of the rellyweed grazers before?"

"Luna," Rokudo began dryly, "- I hardly think that little creatures that eat away at the flesh of their enemies as they sleep can constitute as herbivores."

"They are," Luna insisted. "They spit out the flesh later- it's very bad for their stomachs."

Harry and Hibari shared a look. "I feel like the more we stay around these two the stranger our day will get," Harry confessed, grateful for the change in topic.

"Probably," Hibari said, narrowing his eyes. "This discussion is not over."

"Yes, it is," Harry informed him flatly. Her reasoning was a depressing line of thought- she could even feel the tears starting to prickle against her eyes, though that was probably just the heat. Rokudo hadn't been wrong about her glassy eyes.

Why couldn't she just admire the fact that about a quarter of the buttons on Hibari's shirt were undone in peace?

On second thought, she amended, that was probably an even worse train of thought to be going with.

"Because you do not understand the meaning of the word 'subtle', _shikā_ ," he drawled. "You're hiding something and you aren't even making a decent attempt at doing so."

"What, I can't wear a hoodie whenever I want?" Harry asked defensively. _Shite_.

"It is over ninety degrees out," Hibari pointed out with a raised eyebrow. "Have you suddenly gone suicidal while I wasn't looking?"

"I hope you realize that she's likely trying to hide scars from you, skylark," Rokudo piped up, momentarily disengaging from his and Luna's banter. "What a catch you've found, Hibari. She cares _so_ much for what you think of her," he teased.

Harry thinks that she finally understands why Hibari likes to say that he hates this man so much.

Hibari tilted his head slightly, wordlessly commanding the other man to explain. Rokudo rolled his heterochromatic eyes in response. "It's very obvious - but I suppose you wouldn't see the signs since you hardly ever stop fighting people for long enough to speak with them."

"Get on with it before I bite you to death, pineapple."

Harry looked away at the threat. Luna turned to Rokudo in slight awe. "So you really were telling the truth about that…it's so blatant too..."

Rokudo shook his head in mock exasperation, 'tsk'ing as he did so. "I know, it's just awful, isn't it?"

" _Rokudo Mukuro_."

"So impatient," Rokudo teased. Harry looked at him hopefully. "Can you not?"

"No, I don't think he can't not," Luna informed Harry sadly. "He doesn't listen to others very often."

"I listen when I please," the indigo-haired man dismissed.

"Besides, they're just embarrassing sports scars," Harry explained quickly. "Nothing that you need to be analyzing."

"Really now? With how nervous you're being, I would suspect abuse scars," Rokudo pointed out as though he was saying that the sky is blue.

"Abuse scars?" Hibari questioned sharply, his silver eyes piercing Harry's green ones.

"No, of course not," Harry said, struggling to maintain composure. "My aunt and uncle are too terrified of magic to do anything to me and wizards aren't the types either," she lied. "Who would ever do something like that to me?"

Hibari nodded, but he did not look convinced at all.

Harry hated Rokudo, officially.

The man in question glanced over at her obvious discomfort, apparently deciding to take pity upon her. "She isn't lying, this time."

Hibari fixed him with a patented _are you kidding me, herbivore_ stare.

"Take it from the master liar," he said and Harry got the distinct feeling that she now owed him something. Even though this was all his fault in the first place. Git. "That expression is too pathetic to be anything but truthful."

Luna nodded. "Harry is as safe as can be, as long as she stays away from the nargles," she said, leaning in to stage whisper into Rokudo's ear. "I think they might like her more than they like us."

"Do they now?" he mused in response.

Harry decided it was best to just order more tea at this point- tea was very good at getting rid of stress.

Hibari was looking over her, as though he was trying to stare into her very soul and succeeding. "Are you lying to me, little animal?"

"No," Harry responded firmly. Well, technically she wasn't.

Hibari mulled over her response. "I will trust you, for now. Don't let me regret it."

Harry breathed a sigh of relief- but the undertone had her heart fluttering.

 _He cares_.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **I hope you all know that your reviews are starting to make me cry. Of joy. I'm an ugly crier- I hope you're happy with yourselves.**

 **Good thing I don't wear makeup…**

 **Ciao!**


	15. Chapter 15

" _A horse loves freedom, and the weariest old work horse will roll on the ground or break into a lumbering gallop when he is turned loose into the open."_

― _Gerald Raftery_

* * *

Hibari wonders when exactly it was that he became so accustomed to high-end European restaurants like this one.

At one point in his life, when he was sixteen and had held a bit too much national pride for his own good, he had often looked down upon such establishments with an upturned nose. He hadn't been much better than the herbivores that looked down upon his own culture, he now realizes.

Though, after quite a bit of coaxing and bribery, he _did_ grow to enjoy these places- especially French ones. He did have a bit of French blood on his mother's side, after all. It was helpful in the mafia society he graced now- good food made everything a bit less boring.

Perhaps that was why he agreed to allow Rokudo to drag them all to the most expensive French eatery in Surrey - monotony could always do to be broken and he _had_ been visiting the same cafe on a near-daily basis. _A change of pace,_ he said. _Even you need one - as stubbornly rooted in your ways though you may be_.

It had absolutely nothing to do with how endearing his little animal looked in her baggy hoodie amongst the black-tie clientele, small and anxious yet somehow poised and defiant. Nor did it a have anything to do with the way that she was like a beacon of reality amongst a sea of plastered faces and faux laughs.

(It wasn't that he was in denial, per se. It's more like his pride doesn't take well to this type of admittance- these were mere observations, nothing more and nothing less.)

"Is it just me or are we a bit underdressed, Luna?" Harry whispered to her friend as she fidgeted in her seat, not quite quietly enough to escape Hibari's sensitive hearing. "They're _staring_."

Hibari almost laughed at her attempt. If the sound of a mere leaf falling was more than enough to wake him from his naps, then how could a whisper of any volume escape his senses?

The blonde herbivore made no attempt at subtlety. "I don't think it's really about the dress - it might just be the company. The fire in their eyes is quite bright and strangely colored; it's very eye-catching."

Hibari's interest was peaked. The blonde saw Flames without them even being in use? Perhaps she is less mundane than he had originally thought…

Rokudo seemed entirely unsurprised. "Hm? And what could possibly be so bad about being the apple of the hall's eye?"

"Everything," his shikā remarked flatly. "Aren't you some kind of a 'master illusionist'? Can't you just make us look all fancy?"

"That would be too simple," Hibari dismissed. "The pineapple gets off on the embarrassment of others - to expect any sort of assistance from him is idiotic."

"It seems, skylark, that you know me far too well at this point," the herbivore in question mused, twirling a knife between his fingers. "Perhaps I should just get rid of you once and for all."

"Try," Hibari snorted. "It will only end in another tally to your increasing number of failures."

"Oh? I don't think you've seen me get serious about killing you in quite some time. Not since we were what, sixteen?"

"If that was you being serious then it's surprising you've lasted this long."

Emerald eyes widened at the turn of conversation. "Wait. You've actually tried to _kill_ each other? Are you both _mad?!_ "

"Quite," Rokudo dismissed.

Hibari nodded, for once in agreement. "Sanity is for herbivores."

"Madness is where all the fun is at," the blonde one agreed empathetically. "You should come join us, Harry. We have cookies."

"I think I'd rather be an herbivore, thank you," Harry deadpanned.

"You would rather be like one of _them_?" Hibari questioned with a raised eyebrow, gesturing to the room's other occupants.

"At least they look like they actually belong here and not as if they were dragged along by two annoyingly wealthy gits…" the little animal muttered under her breath.

Hibari allowed a smirk to grace his lips. "You have all that they lack in mind, so it is you who is not out of place somewhere like this. A true establishment is a carnivore's playground."

Ah, there was that blush of hers, accompanied by the widening of her already-large eyes behind round glasses. His shikā was very easy on the eyes - much more so than any of the other women in the vicinity. "That doesn't -"

"Behold, little Luna, the bizarre mating ritual of the Japanese fighting-skylark," Rokudo drawled, the attention whore. He was especially annoying right now- couldn't he just mind his own business and let Hibari fluster Harry in peace? "Not exactly a sight that I would like to be treated to, but nonetheless a rarity indeed."

"Hm, it is very interesting, but I can think of a more interesting mating ritual myself," Lovegood responded. "Haven't you ever heard of the one between the Japanese fighting-skylark and the Italian mist-pineapple? It's quite bizarre."

Rokudo stared.

Hibari stared.

" _Kamikurosu_."

"Please don't. It's better to save such things for Harry, I'm really not interested."

Harry burst into near-hysterical laughter- resonating throughout the entire hall and leaving a strangely warm feeling in his chest- and if it hadn't been such a pleasant sound, then Hibari might really have gone through that threat.

Probably.

* * *

" _How could you ever say that a pastry better than treacle tart exists?_ "

"Sheltered little animal," Hibari chastised. "Mocchi are clearly better than any tart you could find - you just haven't tasted them."

Rokudo and Lovegood had long since abandoned them to their own conversation - good riddance.

"Blasphemy," she shot back. "What's next, are you going to be telling me that there's something better than _ice cream_?"

"Perhaps," Hibari said, amusement coloring his voice, "- but not even I could make that argument, so long as we are discussing green tea ice cream."

Harry groaned. "What is with you and your tea?"

"It's tea," Hibari shrugged. "Only uncultured swines and pretentious herbivores could dislike tea." As if anything could compare- coffee lovers clearly did not know what they were speaking of.

"You spend _ten pounds_ on a _cup_. At least _three_ times a day!"

"They are cheaper than their worth."

The flat look he received in return reminded him terribly of something he might have seen on Sawada's face.

It must be a little animal thing- he doesn't think that any other species of human could possibly pull off such a look without making him want to kill them.

"Just _what_ do you even do to be able to-"

She froze.

Hibari turned to where she was staring, only for his eyes to narrow as they caught an eyeful of swine.

Hibari snorted in disgust.

Dursley. And a mini-Dursley. Plus some sort of strange horse thing… necks like that existed?

Huh.

"Rokudo, I may have overestimated your tastes," Hibari confided.

"I think I may have overestimated this place's standards," the pineapple commented, catching sight of the Brunnegem member. "The mafia just likes to follow us everywhere, doesn't it?"

"I feel like I shouldn't have gotten out of bed today," Harry said faintly. Lovegood patted her on the back consolingly.

Hibari snorted - what an over-dramatic statement. It was just a bunch of herbivores, annoying but ignorable. They wouldn't dare bother the four, they did not have the spines to do so.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **As a coffee addict myself it physically pained me to write part of this chapter. Screw tea.** _ **COFFEE FOR THE WIN!**_

 ***ahem* Thank you all again for your kind reviews- you guys are all wonderful and each and every one of you makes my day just a little bit better.**

 **Ciao!**


	16. Chapter 16

" _We are fascinated, all of us, by the implacable otherness of others. And we wish to penetrate by hypothesis, by daydream, by scientific investigation those leaden walls that encase the human spirit, that define it and guard it and hold it forever inaccessible."_

― _Tim O'Brien, In the Lake of the Woods_

* * *

Harry's heart skipped a beat as soon as her 'family' entered the restaurant. They were going to ruin this, she knew. They would come up to them, yelling and sneering, and they would say something, anything, that would be true- then her friends would turn away.

This was just too good of a thing, what she had going here and now. Good things just didn't like to last for Harry like they did for other people.

It was the truth- cold and simple.

The innocence of her first year- _her happiest_ \- had been stolen away by Voldemort in a matter of hours; her second tainted by Slytherin's heir and his basilisk.

She could go on, but that would be pointless.

One could argue that these people were her _friends, why would they leave over something so stupid? That's not how friendship works_.

Tell that to Ronald Weasley, please. After the betrayal of one of her most trusted loved ones (forgiven but never forgotten), Harry learned to be prepared for anything. She may forever remain loyal herself, but she couldn't predict people- she was no seer.

Harry would be lying if she said that she didn't shift just a bit closer to Hibari, as though by doing so he would not listen, as though the closed distance would keep him right next to her.

How childish of her, she thought. Desperate, silly, pathetic-

 _They didn't do anything_.

Of course, it looked like Aunt Petunia and Dudley were going to say something. She could see the outrage in their eyes, the way that they wanted to drag her from her seat and toss her away- _this place is too good for freaks_ , _after all_.

But then Uncle Vernon shushed them before they could say a word.

Harry was _very_ confused, to say the least. Why would he do such a thing?

 _Ah_.

The portly man was not looking at her. His eyes were darting frantically between Hibari's unimpressed form and Rokudo's more amused stance- he was as stiff and terrified as they were condescending. _Monsters_ , she could see him whisper to his wife and child. _They're monsters, don't say a word until they're gone!_

Right. Her uncle is apparently in the British mafia, and Hibari and Rokudo are to be feared in the mafia, from what information she has gleaned.

 _Monsters_ , plural. They were both somehow worse than her and that was comforting. If two people declared to be even more horrible than she is could be so human, so kind to her and to Luna, then perhaps that meant that she wasn't as much of a freak as she had thought herself to be.

On some level she knew the words that came out of the Dursley's vile mouths were untrue, that she was loved by others and needed, but she had heard these words since the day she learned to understand them. She learned that she was a freak before she ever learned that her name was Harry- how could those cold, painful daggers not prick at her heart every time they reared their ugly heads?

"They seem to be infested by a rare breed of nargles," Luna said gravely, breaking Harry out of her reverie. "Poor, poor people."

"Now, now Luna, don't pity the undeserving," Rokudo chided. "It's wasteful."

"Stop it," Hibari commanded flatly, glaring at the illusionist.

"Stop what?" came the innocent reply.

"This is the third time I've agreed with you in the span of a week," Hibari informed him disgustedly. "Stop it. It's disturbing."

Horror dawned in the other's eyes. "You're right… excuse me," he said, getting up. "I need to go throw up now."

Luna patted him on the back consolingly and Harry couldn't stop a chuckle from escaping her lips.

Which then turned into full blown laughter, so loud that the entire restaurant was staring at her but she couldn't bring herself to care.

"I'm sorry," she said, wiping at her eyes. "I'm just, so happy?"

"Why?" Hibari questioned, amusement coloring silver eyes. "Is it because the pineapple will finally be leaving us, even if it is only for a few moments? I understand that."

"Excuse you."

Harry shook her head. "I think I just like having you guys around. It's nice."

Nice was an understatement, she decided. He saw her face before he ever saw her scar, something that she would forever be grateful for. The banter, between both the two of them and the four, often made her laugh and grin until her face hurt, something that she never thought could ever be possible again.

She didn't feel so alone anymore- she was accepted and she was unpressured. The only eyes on her were those that she _wanted_ to see her.

She felt like she was living again, through conversations and teasing and tea. Her heart soared as though she was in the air in every moment.

This feeling, it was very familiar. She recalls having it once for another girl, Cho Chang, a thought that she could still hardly accept in herself.

It doesn't need a name, not yet, she decides. For now, it was better to ignore it- to just live and be happy with the person who gave her a reason to _be_ happy again.

"Thank you, by the way," she continued. "For giving me a reason to smile, that is."

Hibari's lips quirked up into one of the few genuine smiles that she had ever seen from him and her heart skipped a beat once more. "There is no reason to thank me, _shikā_."

Harry smiled back and nothing could ruin this moment, not the gaping, staring Dursleys behind them nor Rokudo's rather entertaining gagging noises in the background.

* * *

There was no better feeling than that of lazily waking up in Hibari's arms, her head lying on his chest as they were both awoken by the sun's warm rays.

"Morning, Kyo," she mumbled, attempting to get up only to be held in place by the much-stronger male.

" _Shikā_ ," he said, his voice clouded over by sleepiness in a way that warmed Harry's heart to its very core. "Do you really think that I'd let what's mine go so easily? _Stay_."

Harry giggled. "Kay," she agreed easily, moving just a bit to nuzzle his neck. It felt as though she had been doing this forever, as though this was what she _should_ be doing forever.

"I don't deserve this," she decided aloud. She really didn't, everything in her told her so. But she wanted it, _so badly_ , so why not just enjoy it?

"You don't," came the simple, dismissive response.

Harry froze.

"After all," he continued as though he was talking about the weather, about nothing at all, "- everyone you love will inevitably get hurt. They die, they will all die."

Harry sat up, scrambling to get away. Hibari merely looked at her impassively, dispassionately. It was a stark contrast from the loving embrace she had felt only moments before. It was cold, _so cold_.

There was blood now, coming from beautiful silver eyes. "I will die. All it takes is one spell, yes?"

"No, you're too-" Harry tried to protest.

"Strong?" Blood, blood, there was so much blood. "I can be as strong as I like, as fast as I like, but what about _you_?"

Words wouldn't leave Harry's mouth anymore, _couldn't_.

"Your godfather died for you, didn't he? What about me? What if _I_ die for you too?"

 _You wouldn't, he wouldn't, I-_

"Does it matter?" he questioned coldly, as though he had heard her every inner thought. "Cedric Diggory would not have died for you and yet… who was it that walked out of that graveyard that very night?"

 _Me_.

"Poor little herbivore with her poisonous love," Hibari mocked. Was it even Hibari anymore? It was all blurry and red now, she couldn't tell. "You wanted everything that he had and now? Now you have everything he never will."

"Perhaps its good for you to live. After all, so long as you live, you will _never_ forget- especially when _he_ becomes your next victim, _little animal_."

* * *

Harry awoke in a cold sweat and with tears in her eyes.

 _I'm so, so sorry_ , she repeated in her mind.

 _Sorry isn't good enough_ , her heart responded.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Wow this came out a lot later than I had expected, but real life and inspiration are kind of a bitch. I know you guys all wanted a confrontation, but now is the time to be building tensions and developing feelings- conflict can come later.**

 **In completely unrelated news- I have just published an OC SI fic called To Dance With Death and I'd really appreciate it if you guys checked it out and tell me how it is so far.**

 **Thanks again for all your wonderful responses! Now excuse me as I go cry over the fact that goldengirl555 is graduating so I can't hug her every other hour at school anymore.**

 **Ciao!**


	17. Chapter 17

" _The spirit of arrogance most definitely makes you shine. It paints a bright red target on your own forehead."_

― _Criss Jami, Killosophy_

* * *

Hibari knew that something was off the moment she stepped into the cafe.

He knew his little animal very well at this point, after all. He knew that look in her eyes. He saw the way her frame stiffened at the sight of him, as though she could be shattered by a mere breeze.

And he didn't like it, not one damn bit.

Calmed-with-age though he may be, he still had his instincts and every instinct he had told him to be angry when someone that is his returns to him from a place of questionable herbivores - _swines_ \- in such a state.

(They also told him to be just a bit worried, but this is Hibari and Hibari does not worry.)

(Most of the time.)

" _Shikā_ ," he nearly growled, and then almost regretted it for the flinch that came with it.

She sits down with him anyways, somehow.

"Hello," Harry says and Hibari curses internally. He doesn't know what to do here, dealing with upset people is usually a Sawada or a Tetsu problem and is certainly not a Hibari kind of problem.

Hibari nods to her and decides to get straight to the point, but nonetheless slips his own tea to her. Tea helps in these situations, doesn't it?

He doesn't know.

"What happened?" he asks and clearly that is the wrong thing to say. He wishes he didn't care. ( _But somehow, he did, and it isn't something that he understands at all._ )

She looks away, down at the tea and Hibari is frustrated. "Nothing," she tells him and the lie is so painfully obvious that he is tempted to call it herbivorous.

"Did I ask for a lie, little animal?" he questions and he is starting to wonder if he should even be interrogating her right now.

Well, of course he should be, he needed to know what happened so that he could bite the cause of this to death. He liked his shikā the way she normally was - cautious but just a bit impish, brave though obvious in her every intention.

He liked her with a fire burning in those emerald eyes, hidden away by those disarmingly-large glasses for only his eyes to see so long as no one else looked too deeply.

This? This is not how he liked to have his Harriet Potter.

The question - demand - ignites something in her eyes and Hibari bites back a sigh of relief.

"No, but I certainly didn't give you one!" she snaps back, taking a rather aggressive sip from his tea. "I'm telling you, _nothing_ is the matter."

"I see," he says and they both know that he doesn't. "So _nothing_ is enough to have you flinch when I address you and to have you looking away from me when you should be conversing freely. It is enough to labor your steps and -"

"And just _who_ are you to tell me what I should or should not be doing?" she interrupts, latching on to that one phrase, avoiding the others in a way that she should know that he is _very_ aware of.

"I am Hibari Kyoya," he replies flippantly, his tone leaving little room for argument. That name alone is answer enough, to many. "Do not avoid the subject."

Harry opens her mouth to protest and closes it again, her face cycling through a concerning amount of negative emotions before finally settling on blank.

"Don't tell me what to do," she tells him in a quiet voice that he often associated with his Sky's breaking point.

Then she spills his tea on him before he can even stop her, _somehow_ , and waltzes out of the cafe.

"Ouch," he hears the cafe owner say from behind him. "Good thing that friend of yours wasn't here to see that one, eh? By the way, ten pounds for getting the chairs wet."

Hibari doesn't bother responding, merely placing the money on the counter a bit more aggressively than he needed to and stalking out of the cafe himself.

(" _That's an extra thousand for damaging the counter!"_ )

Hibari snorted as he left, that sounded like another Tetsu problem to him.

* * *

"I'm sorry," Harry says the next day, looking absolutely miserable. "That, that wasn't fair of me at all. I shouldn't have done that."

The fact that someone who had insulted his pride so easily looked so depressed should have amused him and it would have, had it not been this particular someone.

Harriet Potter was becoming an exception to a lot of things, he realized.

He wasn't sure if he liked that.

"I should have been more… delicate," he said with some deliberation, as though it physically hurt him to admit that he had made a mistake. "Maybe."

A giggle escapes her lips at the admission. Hibari almost thought it was worth the herbivorous words. "Probably, but I should have expected that, I guess. You're kind of an arse."

Hibari doesn't deny it.

"If I asked you what it was, would you answer me, _shikā_?" he asked carefully. He still needed to bite the cause to death, but it wouldn't do for the entire situation to repeat itself.

Harry stills and it is with some hesitance that she finally responds. "It was a dream."

"A dream," he repeats faintly, with some disbelief. Just what kind of a dream could bring her into _that_ state.

She flushes a light pink and were it any other situation, he would have been pleased. "A nightmare," she clarifies.

Hibari raises an eyebrow. Did she really think that he did not already know that?

The witch looked down to her lap. Hibari sighed. "Name my victim."

Harry looks up at him and blinks, surprise etched into her features. "What?"

"Name the herbivore that caused this nightmare," he clarifies. _The swine, the younger swine or the horse-mother, a wizard, anyone_. He needed substance - a face. Something that he could destroy so that he never saw that expression upon her face again.

"Oh, um," she responds, her thin mouth forming a small 'o'. "It's not a person, _per se_."

"Then what is it?" he asks, demands.

She isn't looking him in the eyes anymore and were it anyone else, then they would not have heard the quiet admission of " _my godfather died_ ".

Hibari has never felt so useless in his life.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **A short chapter, but it got everything done that needed to be done, I think? I mean, let's be honest here. Harry has issues. Lots of issues. There is no way in hell that it could possibly be realistic for me to go through with my original plans of this fic being pure fluff.**

 **It just can't happen that way. No couple doesn't have their hurdles to face when falling in love, but don't worry, I promise there'll be some gooey-ness soon!**

 **Also, someone (thank you very much, anon) has pointed out to me that Google Translate is a dirty, dirty liar and that my romanization of** _ **shika**_ **is wrong.**

 **Until I can summon up the effort to edit all that, then I'll stick to my romanization for consistency. And aesthetics, but that's besides the point.**

 **Thank you all for the lovely responses! Like, wow, over a thousand follows and favorites? My ability to even has been lost.**

 **Unfortunately, I can't promise that I'll be updating more than once a week now with To Dance With Death around, but don't worry, this story is always on my mind.**

 **Til next time, ciao!**


	18. Chapter 18

" _Sometimes that_

 _which we fear_

 _strengthens our_

 _spirit and gives_

 _us a splash_

 _of hope."_

― _Harley King_

* * *

Harry has never been allowed to be weak - not once in her entire life. If she was, then she would not survive - she would disappoint every person that looked up to her and she would be proving her 'family' right about her own worth.

Harry didn't want to do that.

She had no one to hide behind. She could not sit back and be a child - there was never any adult to do the Voldemort-fighting or people-saving.

(And if there was - _Dumbledore_ , her mind whispers - then they sure do like leaving her and her friends to almost die on their own.)

She had to be strong, like no child should ever have to be strong, and that meant putting on her brave face and never letting anyone see her cry.

If she wasn't strong, then how would Ron and Hermione feel? They'd be terrified too and she couldn't have that - her two best friends were part of what _made_ her strong.

Hibari, on the other hand, was something else entirely.

He was powerful and domineering and Harry just _knew_ that she could let her guard down in front of him.

Hibari was his own force of nature - he came into her life and made a horrible summer into something that she treasured. But she was also under no illusions as to how much she was worth to him.

He did not need her.

He did not need for her to be strong for any reason beyond his own preferences and he did not rely on her for anything more than entertainment.

He stood on his own and that was why Harry knew that it would be okay to walk into the cafe without any sort of smile on her face.

She could be as fragile as she liked with him, for there was nothing at stake with him. That is also why no matter how afraid she was of him being hurt because of her, she also knew that she was too selfish to stay away. To lose that feeling of being without burdens, to lose the freedom that came with the presence of freedom incarnate.

Hibari also did not know what he was doing in the face of emotionally fragile people, apparently, and was so blatantly uncomfortable with the situation that Harry would have laughed had she not been the emotionally fragile one.

Then he started acting like he always does - _commanding, vain as a Malfoy, unable to deal with a lack of information_ \- and Harry sort of blew up at him and walked away.

Smooth. Very, very smooth there, Harry.

The next day saw apologies, explanations and The Awkward Silence (which deserves capital letters for being as awkward as it is).

Harry is too relieved to care.

(And fairly certain that had Bellatrix Lestrange's name been dropped then and there, she would have been dead within hours, but Harry wasn't quite sure how she felt about that.)

* * *

" _Ten pounds_ for soggy chairs?! And a _thousand_ for a counter?!"

Harry isn't sure what's more concerning - the fact that Hibari had enough strength to crack a counter or his spending.

Hibari dismisses her concerns easily. "That is hardly anything."

"But I'm pretty sure things like that aren't supposed to be so, so expensive! You're being _conned_ -"

"I realize," he interrupts, and Harry isn't sure she wants to know what goes through his mind anymore. "I knew that from the beginning, _shikā_. Did you really think that I wouldn't notice that we are being charged so much more than other patrons?"

Harry wants to bang her head against a wall for all his frivolity. "Then _why_ haven't you said anything?"

"A competition," he says simply. Harry's deadpan stare prompts him to elaborate. "With the pineapple."

Cue more staring.

"We have recently liberated funds from a corrupt famiglia of herbivores," Hibari continues. Harry doesn't want to know what 'liberated' means. "He and I are having a competition as to who can spend them all in the shortest amount of time on the most common of things."

Harry doesn't know how to respond to that and instead she mutters "rich people" under her breath. Hibari hears anyways.

"Bored rich people," Hibari corrects, a lazy smirk settled upon his face. The arse is _proud_ of how much he confounds her. Harry wants to wipe that smirk off of his face but she is saving her third tea dump for something special, so she doesn't. "I am already winning."

Harry rolls her eyes - there is no reasoning with this one. "Where are they, anyways? Rokudo and Luna?"

"It seems that that blonde has taken to dragging him off in the mornings to look for those creatures of hers and only deems to let him leave when she pleases," he says, a pleased note to his voice. "Meaning that I no longer have to deal with him so often. Remind me to reward her at some point."

Harry blinks in surprise. Rokudo doesn't seem to be the type to let someone dictate his actions - perhaps Luna has charmed him enough for him to actively desire her presence?

That was good, amazing actually. More people needed to appreciate Luna.

"Will do," she assures him. "Say, if we're being overcharged for everything, then what's the actual price for that tea that I like?"

Hibari shrugged. "There is a menu above the counter," he says and there is laughter in his voice, as though her stupidity is making his day already.

It's strange - she knows very well that the man before her is deadly, far deadlier than any Death Eater if her uncle was to be believed.

 _That - that monster! Dudders, don't ever, ever go near him - he says that he won't harm anyone, but that's only for now… that_ thing _can snap your perfect neck in ten bloody seconds!_

However, it was hard to reconcile the image of the heartless killer Uncle Vernon's eyes made him out to be and this beautiful person whose mere presence could make her heart flutter and bring her out of the hole her own mind stuck her in.

(But she still _could_ and that should scare her. It doesn't.)

Harry looks at the menu. "... I am going to fight her. Excuse me."

There is something warm in his eyes as she rings the counter's bell and if she wasn't so damned irritated, she is sure her cheeks would have looked like a Weasley's hair.

(They did anyways.)

* * *

 **A/N**

 **The popularity of this continues to astound me.**

 **But wow, chapter eighteen! I really didn't think that we'd get this far, but here we are. The plan is for this to continue for about fifty to seventy chapters, give or take, and I already have a basic outline for how this is going to go… now I just have to execute it all.**

 **Hogwarts is coming up soon, by the way. Hopefully in chapter twenty or so? We'll see.**

 **Thanks again for all the reviews! Seriously, you people turn me into a blushing mess in public. I even had tears in my eyes once.**

 **Anyhow, be sure to tell me how you like this one! Ciao!**


	19. Chapter 19

" _But when we sit together, close,' said Bernard, 'we melt into each other with phrases. We are edged with mist. We make an unsubstantial territory."  
Virginia Woolf, The Waves_

* * *

"They're leaving tomorrow, you know."

Hibari didn't need the reminder.

"Your point, pineapple?" he questioned, not bothering to look up from his laptop.

"My point, skylark, is that you have but one day to set things straight with the girl, for if you don't, we both know that you will be absolutely insufferable for _weeks_ ," Rokudo said with all the patience of a teacher explaining something to a five year old.

Hibari was very pleased when Rokudo didn't dodge the propagated pencil he threw at him. It made him feel slightly better about having _this_ conversation with _the pineapple_ of all people.

"Very mature, Hibari," the Mist deadpanned.

"Violence is the most logical way to deal with you," Hibari responded. It was, honestly. If he was too busy fighting, then he wouldn't be talking. A win-win situation.

"In your mind. Regardless, what I said still stands. Harriet Potter will be off to wizarding school in a single day, where she will be free to pursue and be pursued by _plenty_ of other admirers. Does that not threaten you?"

"Why would it?" He knew very well that no other interested her in the way he did. However, time waited for no one. Hibari hated to admit it, but Rokudo did have a point.

"I doubt that I need to explain it to you. It's strange, really. I never thought I'd see the day when you'd start looking at another human being like that."

Like what? He was certain he hadn't been making eyes at her - at anyone in his entire life. Yet another one of the Mist's delusions, it seems.

Rokudo ignored Hibari's confusion, continuing on with a smirk on his face. "I had thought that if you ever deigned to procreate, then it would be with another one of those animals you always go on about."

He avoided the next Flame-coated flying object - _damn_. Hibari _would_ get up and bite the other to death, but unfortunately he had to approve of the Foundation's interference in a Russian group's treaty with the Vongola first. _Someone_ had to make sure Sawada wasn't being cheated in any way and he sure as hell wasn't going to trust CEDEF with his job.

Ah well, something to do later on in the night.

"You're one to talk, Rokudo," Hibari drawled. "I didn't think you were capable of this type of fondness for anyone but yourself, and yet here you are."

Rokudo rolled his eyes. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said, but Hibari could hear the defensiveness in the other's voice.

"Then you're blind to your own emotions," Hibari responded flatly. "Anyone can see how much you're enjoying the attention Lovegood gives you."

"And who wouldn't enjoy such a pleasant dose of normality in a life like ours? Appreciating the novelty of something doesn't automatically translate to romantic feelings."

Hibari snorted. "Herbivore."

"Not wanting to taint someone with my pursuit is hardly herbivorous," the Mist scoffed, his eyes widening in horror after a brief pause. "I did _not_ just use that word."

Hibari didn't bother responding to the comment. "I'm sure that I'm not the only one who finds your desperation to convince yourself that you're the scum of the earth hilarious, however right you may be about that."

"Directing the conversation to me in order to avoid speaking of your own feelings?" Rokudo sneered. "Classic Cloud."

"Just as it is classic Mist behavior to deceive everyone around you, especially yourself," Hibari said without missing a beat. "I'm shocked that it even works as well as it does, your ego being what it is."

"I wonder," Rokudo began reproachfully "- what exactly does that make you, Hibari? Deny it all you want, but you are a Mist as well. What is your deception?"

Lashing out the moment someone gets even remotely close to the truth - so disgustingly predictable. "Nothing," Hibari replied. "I have nothing to truly be avoiding either - I know exactly what it is that I'm doing."

Hibari will forever deny not dodging the pencil that was thrown back at him.

(But the dissipating tension was worth it, just a bit.)

* * *

Hibari decided to drive Harry to the train station the next morning. Why leave something so simple to the swines when he could do it himself?

"You're not going to be here much longer, are you?" she questioned as they arrived, Hibari moving to retrieve her trunks. It was amusing - the way she marveled at how these things weighed like feathers in his hands.

"No," he responded. "Rokudo and I have completed the negotiations and are due to return to Italy in two days."

"Oh," the little animal said, looking down with disappointment in her green eyes. "But you'll write, won't you?"

Hibari isn't sure as to _how_ exactly she managed to convince him to exchange letters with her via owl. He didn't even _like_ owls.

(It probably had something to do with the way her features lit up with his agreement - her happiness brought something warm into his chest that he couldn't quite place.)

"I already said I would, didn't I? I don't go back on my word."

"I know," she said, her teeth grazing her lip. She was unsure of something, he could tell. He wondered what it was. "Thank you."

Hibari merely nodded in response. "Where are we going?"

"Platform nine and three quarters - it's strange, I know, but -" she said, gesturing widely with her hand as though the right word was just on the tip of her tongue. " _Wizards_."

Hibari snorted. Wizards, indeed.

The rest of the walk there was silent, contemplative. Hibari didn't mind the quiet - more time to think.

Hibari wasn't one to deny his own feelings for long - he knew that she made him feel warm, that she amused him and gave him something to look forward to in this boring town. He enjoyed her presence and disliked the idea of her being away from him for too long, she is his shikā, after all.

Rokudo was right about one thing - Hibari despised the idea of another stealing her away from him. The idea disagreed with his very core.

There is only one acceptable course of action now, it seems.

They reached the gap between platforms nine and ten, stopping before a wall - a barrier between his world and hers.

She turned to face him, opening her mouth to say something.

Hibari, however, was not patient enough to let her.

His fingers found her chin, tilting it up so that their eyes met, blue-ish silver boring into emerald green.

Her cheeks flushed pink and her eyes widened in surprise, but she did not move away when he gave her the opportunity to do so.

Taking this as permission, Hibari finally leaned in and pressed his lips to hers.

The response was nearly immediate and Hibari was pleased to note that her lips were as soft as they looked, slightly chapped but pleasant enough, and that she tasted like passion-fruit tea and warm scones.

He isn't quite sure how long their kiss lasted - but he does know that it was long enough for her lips to be a bit swollen and for someone to have screamed twice at the sight.

 _Herbivores_.

"You really don't have much shame, do you?" she asks breathily, and the smirk that comes to his lips is less of a smirk and more of a smile.

"None at all," he admits easily, enjoying the way she laughs freely at the admission.

Harry is still smiling when she asks, "So does this mean that we're -"

"It means that you're mine," he informs her. Not that she hadn't already known that, he bets.

Her lips twist into a pouty frown and Hibari resists the urge to kiss her again, for now. "But that's not very fair," she protests. "If I'm yours then you should also be mine - relationships must be equal."

Hibari tilts his head thoughtfully. To be someone else's… it isn't like he doesn't already deal with such slips of the tongue from Sawada already.

But he understands what she means - loyalty. If he is hers then that only means that he cannot go off with another woman.

"Acceptable," he finally concedes and she beams in response.

"And, um," she says shyly and this time he does not resist the urge to kiss her again. He heard the telling thud of someone fainting in the background - it seems that his shikā is more popular amongst wizards than he had originally thought.

"Stop interrupting me," Harry giggles. Hibari kisses her again to spite her (and because her lips felt rather nice, but he'd rather admit to the former reason.) "Rude."

"As I was saying," Harry says with a roll of her eyes, "- it would be weird if I kept calling you by your last name if we're going to be like… like this."

It wouldn't be so strange, but this is not Japan, where formality was written into the very essence of the culture. Britain, he supposes, is different. "Then you may call me Kyoya," he acquiesces.

"Kyoya," she says, tasting the name upon her lips. It sounds good, the way she says it. Not quite right, but as well as one can expect given her accent. He finds that he doesn't mind at all.

"Now," he begins, leaning in so that his lips are brushing the tip of her ear. Her breath hitches and he decides that when he sees her next he shall devote some time to seeing each and every one of her reactions. "Just why would those herbivorous wizards be screaming fainting at the sight of us kissing?"

"This isn't the best place," Harry says instead of answering, and moves to look away from him. He doesn't let her. "I'll tell you in a letter," she promises, and when he looks into her eyes he finds a sort of dread.

Kyoya doesn't like that at all.

"You have nothing to fear, _shikā_ ," he decides to say. That seems right. He doesn't want to see her the way he did a week ago, not now, and this subject seemed to teeter her on the edge.

"You'd say that," his shikā mutters, turning to look at the clock. "I should go now, or the express will leave without me."

Kyoya is reluctant to let her go with such a look in her eyes, but he will not lower himself to asking her to stay. "Then go."

Harry nods, removing herself from his arms. "Okay," she says, though she doesn't sound very 'okay' with it. "Um, don't forget to write."

"I won't," he says for what has to be the third time that day, shaking his head slightly. Harry snorts at his response, turning to the wall. She gives him a pointed look, this is supposed to be a secret entrance.

Kyoya makes a show out of looking away, .

Her laughter sounds even after she disappears behind the barrier and Kyoya finds himself walking away just a moment later with the beginnings of a smile on his face.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Words cannot describe how long I've been waiting to write that scene. Seriously - I've had this planned since before I even started chapter one.**

 **Anyhow, I should hope that this fulfills everyone's desire for plot and such, yes? Let the Hogwarts stuff begin!**

 **Also, I will now be referring to Hibari as Kyoya to show the change in their relationship.**

 **Someone commented on Harry's name being boyish, funnily enough. I hadn't thought about that, actually. Fun fact about me- I dislike my real name so I also use a shortened version of it, specifically the Russian one used mostly by dudes.**

 **Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this! Ciao, see you all in a few days~!**


	20. Chapter 20

_"Impossibility only lasts until you find new unbelievable hard evidences."_

 _― Toba Beta_

* * *

Hermione used to tell Harry all about her feelings for Viktor Krum, before they ever died down to a friendly correspondence.

She used to tell her about how special she felt when they looked into each other's eyes - the fire that burned when they shared that one kiss at the Yule Ball.

Harry had never been jealous of Hermione until that moment - until she was the one watching her crush dance away with another as her best friend had the time of her life, with someone that had sought her out for things that truly mattered - her zeal for books, her passion for knowledge and the way that she could talk all night long about anything in the world with a spark in her brown eyes.

What Hermione had had back then was real - in a way that the empty confessions of love for Harry's name and status never would be.

Harry hadn't been sure if she could ever have that - lasting or not.

But now, she was certain that nothing could ever feel more real than Kyoya's lips on hers, his fingers on her chin and his other arm around her waist.

And now, as she walked to the Hogwarts Express, she wondered how exactly her hopeless crush had evolved into… that. Into warm, lip-bruising contact and gazes that sent electricity down her spine; into a reciprocated _thing_ that warmed her soul and got her mind racing at a thousand thoughts per second.

There were people staring at her, whispering, chattering. It was nothing new, but this time she heard mentions of a tall foreigner, of a man who stole the heart of their savior.

It doesn't seem to have crossed their minds yet that he is a muggle. She isn't surprised; wizard superiority complexes often lead them to dismiss common sense and she is very much okay with that right now.

Harry doesn't really need that kind of attention right now, honestly.

Hermione catches her near the express, before the Weasleys catch sight of her. The brunette is slightly out of breath, as though she had exhausted herself trying to find Harry.

"Harry," she greets and there is something of a frantic note to her voice. "They're saying you were _snogging_ some bloke in front of the barrier!"

"Um." _Snogging._ Now there's a word that she didn't think she'd have anything to do with for quite some time. "Yes?"

Hermione pauses a moment. "Was it that Hibari person that you've been fancying all summer?"

Harry nods.

Her friend breaks into a wide grin and suddenly Harry finds her hands to have been stolen away in Hermione's excitement. "See, I _told_ you that he'd be head over heels for you by the time you left for Hogwarts!"

What? Liking someone was a _very_ big thing for Harry, _of course_ she'd let her best friend know about it.

(Even if all the advice she had to give was from various books about romance and dating and was relatively useless, it was the thought that counted.)

"'Mione," Harry begins, exasperated, her lips quirking up into a matching smile, "- you know I'm not very good with this kind of thing. I didn't expect much."

"Nonsense," Hermione dismissed. "People gravitate towards you, even without knowing who you are. Even if you didn't manage a romance, a friendship was practically guaranteed."

"That's not true," Harry denied vehemently. "I can hardly even keep up a conversation half the time!"

"You're so oblivious," Hermione admonishes with a fond note to her voice. "Come on, let's get on the Express."

"You're one to talk," Harry mumbles under her breath, only to be treated to one of Hermione's Glares™.

"What was that?"

"Nothing, nothing…"

"Thought so."

* * *

" _Harry!_ " Ron exclaimed when they met him on the Hogwarts Express. "You wouldn't believe what they've been saying about you!"

Harry and Hermione shared a look. "Well, I've been hearing things about myself kissing my…"

What was Kyoya to her, anyways? They were in a relationship, she knew, but it didn't feel right to call him her 'boyfriend'. Too immature, standard. Kyoya was neither of those things. 'Lover'?

Harry barely kept herself from flushing over at that thought. No, definitely not.

"- significant other," she finally decided.

Ron's mouth fell open. "So it's _true_?!"

It was a bit accusatory, Harry noticed. She understood that - Ron was her other best friend and yet she had not informed him about Kyoya's existence.

Harry shrugged. "He's a fantastic kisser," she felt the need to defend herself.

Over the years, Harry, Ron and Hermione have had many disagreements: Harry's inability to talk about her issues, Hermione's stubbornness, Ron's troubles with understanding.

Their friendship was precious to Harry, more than anything else in this world, but she didn't know how Ron would react to her having a genuine, muggle love interest.

(In hindsight that was a stupid insecurity; this is the boy that knowingly acted as her wingman when dealing with the whole Cho Chang thing, after all.)

"Oh," Ron responded. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Because she wasn't sure yet and uncertain feelings are topics of girl talk, Ron. Don't get so offended."

Harry nodded, grateful for Hermione's intervention. "I thought it would be easier to talk about this in person."

"You aren't really known for your consideration either," Hermione added.

"I guess that's true," Ron admitted reluctantly. "So, um, are you going to fill me in?"

Hermione leaned forward expectantly. "Oh yes, I haven't been entirely informed about him either, right? You only told me his name and what kind of tea he likes!"

Harry loves her friends. She really, really loved her friends.

"Well, you see, his name is Kyoya Hibari and we met in a ridiculously overpriced teashop…"

* * *

"You and your Asians," Ron shook his head. "No wonder most of the people at school never stood a chance."

"It's a coincidence," Harry protested. "Appearance hardly matters!"

"Mhmm," Hermione snickered and Harry almost regretted gushing about Kyoya as if she was Lavender Brown. "Of course. It's also about the way they walk - you _must_ be able to write poetry about that."

"I hate you."

"He kinda reminds me of a less arse-ish Malfoy," Ron says distastefully. "The whole attitude thing."

"They even share an eye color," Hermione adds thoughtfully. "'Arse-ish'?"

"Shut up."

"He did remind me of Malfoy too, at first," Harry admits. "But the truth is that Kyoya can back up his arrogance while all Malfoy does is whine about daddy dearest."

"You sure he isn't too Slytherin?" Ron asked uncertainly. Like any good Gryffindor, Ron isn't one for trusting Slytherins.

Harry nods. "Don't worry. But if you want _too_ Slytherin, then you should go see Luna's boyfriend."

Hermione raises an eyebrow. "Luna's? Oh right, I forgot that you and Luna spent a few weeks together…"

As if on cue, their compartment door opened and Luna stepped in with a depressed-looking Ginny Weasley.

"Harry, I'm very upset with you," Luna announced. "I now owe Mukuro twenty pounds because of your terrible timing."

"I'd say I'm sorry," Harry said, a mischievous smile upon her lips. "- but that would be a lie. It was more than worth your twenty pounds."

"I'd think so," Luna agreed, peering over at Harry. "Your lips are all swollen. Does that mean that -"

" _No!_ "

"I'll take that as a -"

"Nope."

"That doesn't -"

"Let's talk about _your_ boyfriend, Luna," Harry snapped, her cheeks flushed as she looked away.

Hermione watched them in confusion. "What was she trying to say, Harry?"

"Nothing."

Ron looked even more confused. "But -"

" _Nothing_."

Stupid Mukuro and his even stupider gossiping about biting kinks.

(And stupid Kyoya for his terrible taste in catchphrases.)

(Screw Kyoya.)

(Not literally.)

"Um," Ginny cut in and Harry was immensely grateful for the ginger's presence. However, she looked very upset and that was rather concerning… "What was that about Luna having a boyfriend?"

Luna nodded, an innocent smile stretched out on her face. Harry wanted to dump a cup of tea on her. "Yes, I have one."

"He's very...Slytherin," Harry offered. "Much worse than Kyoya. When did he even have time to pull a move on you anyways, Luna?"

"'Pull a move'?" Luna repeated, tilting her head slightly. "I have a friend that is probably male. What are you talking about?"

Hermione frowned. "Probably?"

Luna nodded once more. "I'm not sure if pineapples can have genders, after all."

Harry nodded faintly and dissolved into laughter. Everyone else was wondering if that kiss had finally taken what's left of their friend's sanity.

They were probably right.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **I really don't have any excuses for the long wait beyond having a really stressful past two weeks. Sorry everyone! But thank you all for the reviews! Every one of them made me feel sooo much better. Words cannot describe how thankful I am to have such wonderful readers.**

 **Speaking of… one reviewer asked if I have Slavic roots. Yes, I do actually! I'm Ukrainian-American and I speak Russian.**

 **Additionally, someone asked about everyone's ages? I'm pretty sure I mentioned these, but…**

 **Harry is sixteen.**

 **Kyoya is nineteen.**

 **Mukuro is eighteen.**

 **Luna is fifteen.**

 **I think that covers everything… thanks again and I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Ciao!**


	21. Chapter 21

" _We are fascinated, all of us, by the implacable otherness of others. And we wish to penetrate by hypothesis, by daydream, by scientific investigation those leaden walls that encase the human spirit, that define it and guard it and hold it forever inaccessible."_

― _Tim O'Brien, In the Lake of the Woods_

* * *

They returned to Italy the next day; Kyoya, as pleased with himself as a cat who just caught his prey and Rokudo grumbling under his breath about the loss of twenty pounds.

While he was rather irritated over how he wasn't going to be seeing his Harry for some time, he was also internally smirking over the knowledge that she wouldn't be able to stop thinking about him for nights on end after the farewell he left her with.

That blush on her face was rather telling (and _very_ enjoyable).

Perhaps he ought to have snapped a picture?

"Wipe that disgusting expression off of your face immediately, skylark," the pineapple demanded. Just who could have possibly thought that only sending a single car to pick them up from the airport would be a good idea? "It's driving my mood even further into the depths of hell."

Hm, perhaps that smirk wasn't so internal after all.

"Calm yourself," Kyoya said with a roll of his eyes. "Simply because you didn't have the guts to stake your own claim doesn't mean that you need to be even more irritating than usual."

Rokudo sniffed. "I only mean that your preening is getting older by the second. I feel bad for the poor girl, really, having to put up with you in a relationship."

"Notice the way that you completely ignored my latter statement."

"I feel no need to land myself in prison, _again_ , for attempting to date jailbait, unlike _someone_."

Kyoya stared.

"Shut up."

Kyoya continued staring.

"I hate you."

Kyoya raised an eyebrow. Rokudo huffed.

"I hope you know that you're never living this down," Kyoya informed the Mist idly. Really, making excuses for his own cowardice?

If he was attracted to someone that very obviously liked him back, then it was stupid to keep quiet about it.

"I am aware," Rokudo responded icily, looking back at the window. This conversation is over, it seems.

Good, there is only so much of that grating voice that Kyoya can take in any period of time.

Kyoya turned to the other window - he had better things to be thinking about. Like the way that his shika's lips tasted much better than he had originally expected, or the way that her body had fit to his like a puzzle piece.

He fully realized that he was thinking like a lovesick fool and that it was probably a bit pathetic.

He also didn't actually care.

He rather liked this warm feeling in his chest, foolish or not. Perhaps Sawada was onto something with that ridiculous crush he once held…

* * *

"Welcome home you two. The treaty went ahead as planned, right?"

Over the years Kyoya has watched Sawada Tsunayoshi's metamorphosis, from the weakest of herbivores to someone that even he could respect and perhaps even follow.

Though still as tiny as ever, his eyes were no longer innocent, though not quite as jaded as say, Gokudera. His features were sharper now, more Italian, with visible signs of stress.

In short, he looked like a mafia boss. It was slightly disconcerting.

"Did you really expect anything less, Tsu~na~yoshi~?"

The Mist leaned onto Sawada's desk, their faces uncomfortably close. Sawada didn't even react. "No, not really."

Kyoya jammed a tonfa into Rokudo's back. "Your idiocy disgusts me. Why was his presence necessary again?"

"Ow," Rokudo complained. "Do you not see this abuse, Tsunayoshi? I demand that this _thing_ be punished."

Sawada looked faintly amused, if a bit exasperated at their antics. "Extra reassurance, Kyoya. You two do work best as a team, whether you like it or not and -"

"Are you drunk, Sawada?"

"I am going to pretend that I didn't hear such blasphemy coming from your mouth, Vongola."

"- I've already given up on you two ever being normal or anything but your weird version of civility with each other, so a punishment would be pointless, Mukuro."

Rokudo huffed. Kyoya snorted. "As if someone liked you could ever punish me."

"If I didn't care for my life then I'd take that as a challenge," Sawada laughed. "But as it stands, I think I'll just ignore it."

"Smart little animal."

"Coward."

"And just who are you to call _him_ a coward?"

"Are you _still_ going on about that?"

"Did I not tell you that you weren't going to be living this down?"

Kyoya had a point to this persistence, really. The blatant truth was that he _did_ have to spend a lot of time with the annoyance. If the annoyance is already upset, then he will be even more irritating to deal with during assignments, or when Kyoya inevitably had to ask for his assistance in interrogations.

The best way to resolve the matter was to deal with it at its heart.

The issue: Rokudo is smitten with Luna Lovegood and could not tell her due to his own self-loathing, in spite of how horrible the girl was at hiding her own affections.

It was almost as pathetic as her taste in men.

The solution: goad the idiot into saying something just to shut Kyoya up. Then the pineapple will be happy and therefore, much, _much_ easier to deal with. A happy Rokudo is one that does not even bother speaking with Kyoya, as to not 'ruin his mood'.

Kyoya enjoys it quite a bit.

"I feel like I'm missing something pretty big here," Sawada noted. "Is anyone going to actually tell me?"

Kyoya opened his mouth to explain, only to be cut off before a single word could come out.

"It seems," Rokudo said, shooting Kyoya a venomous look, "- that our skylark has actually managed to find himself a lover."

Sawada choked on thin air. " _What._ "

The Cloud raised an eyebrow. "And that is relevant to this conversation how?"

"It simply is," Rokudo said in a sing-song tone, a smirk blooming at his lips.

"What. Just. _When_ did this happen?!"

Kyoya had to admit, the incredulity on the Sky's face was strangely satisfying. "Yesterday. Now, I believe we are done here."

"Don't worry Tsunayoshi," Rokudo purred. "I'll tell you _all_ about her."

Kyoya turns and leaves, heading to his own quarters within the mansion and deciding to bite the pineapple to death later.

* * *

There is an owl at his window. It is beautiful, with snowy feathers and eyes of liquid gold. Kyoya recognizes her as Hedwig, his shika's bird.

He lets her in, stroking her head and allowing the bird to nuzzle into his hand. It's an endearing sight, befitting of Harry's pet.

"There is something for you to eat near my bed," he informs her and the owl immediately takes off from her perch on his shoulder, joining Hibird in his dinner. Kyoya had been expecting this owl, and as such had taken the time to make sure that there was a meal ready for her when she arrived. Flying over such long distances took quite a bit of energy, after all.

Kyoya, meanwhile, focuses on the letter that had been attached to Hedwig's leg.

The opening tells him that it is an explanation as to what Harriet Potter's role within wizarding society is. Interest piqued, he scans the rest of the letter within seconds.

Kyoya stared at the letter and began to question his sobriety. Then he read it again.

It's real.

Kyoya mourns the brain cells that the herbivores of the wizarding world just killed with their mere existence deeply.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **I am so, so sorry about the delay in updating. Seriously.**

 **Jen+stress equals zero inspiration. Bleh.**

 **Hopefully this chapter made up for it to some degree?**

 **Anyhow, for anyone who was confused by anything in the last chapter - this fic takes place in Harry's sixth year, and yes, she is bisexual. I didn't see any reason to gloss over Harry's canon crush on Cho, y'know? It makes for nice characterization.**

 **Lastly, I recently posted another fic (yes, I know that I already have enough stories on my plate,** _ **but**_ **it makes my bestfriend happy, so I'm writing it) called Tinted Glass, which focuses on Tsuna's adventures in Hogwarts.**

 **I'd really appreciate it if you guys checked it out. Your thoughts on my stories give me life, seriously. I can guarantee that I've reread every review on this at least five times because it's such a good way to put a smile on my face? These reviews literally make me feel better when my anxiety decides to act up.**

 **Thank you all.**

 **Now then… see you guys next time!**

 **Ciao!**


	22. Chapter 22

" _There are adventures of the spirit and one can travel in books and interest oneself in people and affairs. One need never be dull as long as one has friends to help, gardens to enjoy and books in the long winter evenings."_

― _D.E. Stevenson, Listening Valley_

* * *

Harry had always hated all the undeserved attention she got. After all, it wasn't as if she had been actively trying to defeat Voldemort as a baby, nor did she even _want_ to face him every year or so.

She simply… did.

 _It isn't so hard to provide you with a different identity, shika. There's only so much time a little animal like yourself can spend with herbivores like those before you finally snap._

If Harry didn't know any better, she would say that she is in love with Kyoya. Especially when he said things like this - in a beautiful script that could only have been made by a brush and fine ink. Traditionally Japanese, elegant and enduring - the whole thing was very… _Kyoya_.

 _Have they ever even seen you? Or are they blind to anything beyond the flimsy cardboard image they've so obsessively constructed?_

It took more than two months to fall in love with a person, Harry knew. It took her mother seven years to fall for her father. Sirius once told her that he had loved someone, that it was something beautiful that had been built year after year after year until it all came crashing down.

But sometimes, she really did have to wonder.

 _I hope you know that that world is nothing but a toxic trap, just waiting to dig into your flesh._

Oh, did she know…

 _What will happen once you finally defeat this Dark Lord (really? Dark Lord? The pineapple could come up with a better title. This says something.) of theirs? I don't think I need to specify._

Harry giggled at the jab. Ouch - that really did say something. Rokudo, as she had learned from Luna, could be terribly uncreative with anything that wasn't an illusion, embarrassingly so. She wondered what this said about the wizarding world, if they could name their villain so unassumingly and still be so afraid.

If any muggle heard the name then they would roll their eyes and complain about the lack of originality in fantasy. If a wizard heard it, they would stammer away as their fear took hold of their lips. It is ironic, really, considering whom was truly endangered by the man.

Or was he even a man anymore? That thing that she saw in fourth year was twisted and ugly, cursing even the most loyal of his followers.

Perhaps she should start calling him the Dark-Thing-That-Must-Die? That might take away from the fear he inspired. She wasn't - isn't - afraid of him, not anymore. ( _Was I ever?_ )

Harry sighed. Stupid Kyoya, making her think so deeply about D.T.T.M.D. (as she has now dubbed Voldemort) when she should be eating breakfast. She wasn't going to touch the topic of the future with a ten foot pole either - such thoughts are not meant to be tainting the delicacy that is bacon.

She wishes he was there. Then she could _maybe_ get away with pouring a cup of tea on him for doing such things to her mind. She tells this to Ron and Hermione, earning laughter from both her best friends.

That makes it a bit better, but she still wants Kyoya.

 _Have you even been provided with any special training? Tutoring? Are you prepared to_ not _die?_

She probably shouldn't tell him that she hasn't received any such training. Harry doesn't hate Professor Dumbledore nearly enough to wish Kyoya upon him.

Kyoya is _scary_ when he's mad. And beautiful, but that hardly matters. _Sexy_ might be a good word for the way he sparred with Rokudo that one time… The glint in his silver-blue eyes, the flow of his movements, the dangerous tilt of his lips…

Harry's cheeks lit up and she pointedly ignored any questions on the subject.

Harry is stolen away from her _Kyoya is unfairly attractive and I want to do things to him_ reverie by Hermione's gasp, her fork caught in her mouth as she looks to the other girl, questioning. "Mione?"

"Harry," Hermione says, her lips forming a perfect 'o'. "There is such a thing as public decency!"

"Mate," Ron says disapprovingly. "Ew. Save it for the bed - not that you're allowed to be in bed with any older guys. Nope."

Harry resists the urge to bang her head against the table repeatedly or stab herself with her fork when she sees the copy of the Daily Prophet in Hermione's hands. "It's too early for this."

"It's always too early for Rita Skeeter," Hermione agrees. Harry wants to go back to her letter - her significant other is much better for her sanity than that woman ever will be. "I didn't know that you were into rich, Japanese wizards, Harry."

"Neither did I. I thought my type was just pretty Asians? You know, like Hermione likes her -"

" _Silencio_."

Ron raises an eyebrow but does not comment. _Smart move_ , Harry thinks. " _Tongues wildly, passionately crashing together_ ," he reads aloud in an overly exaggerated voice, chuckles escaping his mouth as he does so. "Bloody hell, Harry. That sounds like one hell of a first kiss." He pauses. "Or maybe Skeeter's just better off writing trashy romance novels. Not that I would know."

Harry hopes that her face conveys her skepticality of Ron's knowledge on trashy romance novels. She's seen what's under his bed.

" _Sure_ you don't." Harry thinks that she loves Hermione, but then she remembers that Hermione Silenced her and decides that she is very neutral about Hermione at this very moment.

Ron's ears turn red. Harry giggles and shakes her head. Hermione's lips quirk up. Ron, it seems, is very likely to just up and leave the table. She can't say that she blames the poor bloke - literally.

Harry takes the newspaper from Hermione, scanning it before ripping out the front page, much to Hermione's chagrin.

 _For Kyoya_ , she mouths. He would definitely get a kick out of hearing about how he _ravaged Harriet Potter_ and _claimed the Girl-Who-Lived for all to see_.

Maybe if she was lucky he'd show her what those terms really meant.

Ahem.

"I don't like this guy anymore," Ron deadpans. Hermione raises an eyebrow. "Why not? He seems perfectly fine to me - a cut above all the guys trying to get Harry's attention here."

Ron fixes the moving image of Harry and Kyoya sharing their first kiss - _wow, that's violating_ \- with an _I am so done_ kind of glare. "He's turned Harry into a bloody pervert!"

"... a pervert?"

"'Mione," he says, exasperatedly, "- do you not _see_ the weird things going through her head right now? Harry, no offense mate, but your face is a bloody open book."

Harry pouts. Then maybe he should stop looking at her.

"No," Ron shoots her down quickly. "If we leave you alone then who knows what kind of twisted crap you'll come up with."

Hermione looks contemplative. "That's true… if we leave her alone for over a day then she starts brooding like a younger, less evil Snape. What if the same concept applies here…?"

 _Hey!_

"Sorry." He doesn't sound very sorry. "It's true."

Harry opens her mouth to mouth a protest, but then _they_ begin. She had been able to eat in peace at first, as the Prophet was processed, but no longer.

" _Is it true?!_ "

" _You're married?!"_

" _Is he nobility?! Royalty!?"_

" _Noooo!"_

Harry wants to die. Or kiss Kyoya senseless. That sounds better than listening to this.

" _Harry!"_

 _Oh shut up you two._

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Soo… guess who's back? And still alive? Somehow? Ish?**

 **Jen + three APs + college applications = no sleep = no time to write properly.**

 **Anyhow, thank you all for continuing to support this story. Each and every review you guys left me made my days brighter, really. What did I ever do to deserve such wonderful readers?**

 **Also, you guys may have noticed a significant decrease in the typos and such in this story. That is due to the wonderful advice and corrections from the lovely Amu4ever!**

 **Words cannot describe how thankful I am for the time she took to help improve this story. This chapter is, of course, dedicated to her amazingness.**

 **The update schedule for this story** _ **is**_ **going to be weird for a while, but hopefully I can get it back on track soon.**

 **Ciao!**


	23. Chapter 23

_"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds."_

 _― Albert Einstein_

* * *

Kyoya must admit, it has been quite some time since the last time he had found himself in such a conundrum, a true conflict of the mind.

Should he indulge in the ever-so-satisfying feeling that comes with the knowledge of knowing that someone is his? That an entire society has acknowledged that Harriet Potter is his partner and his alone?

Or, perhaps better yet, should he make use of his knowledge of the locations of all the manor's (many, Kyoya really is slightly concerned) secret stores of sake, hidden away from the children's reach?

After all, it would be no exaggeration to say that the wizarding world's intelligence, or rather, its lack of, was so mind-boggling that he fears, again, that it might damage his own, should he not numb his mind before diving into the disgustingly duplicit foray known as _The Daily Prophet_.

Kyoya sat cross-legged upon the soft tatami mat of his room, a copy of the blasted periodical resting in his lap. The front cover was an interesting dichotomy of the logical and illogical - one half of the page taken up by the factual and the rest…

Well.

He'd call it herbivorous, but that would be an insult to majority of herbivores in the world. He'd call it elementary, but that would be an even bigger insult to the children of the human race.

The top half of the page was covered by a moving, soundless picture, an interesting thing that he would like to know more about. There was obviously no technology involved and more interesting yet, he could sense no Mist Flames coming from the paper.

It was like an undetectable illusion, one that he was unsure as to how he could break, or if it was even breakable - he didn't know enough about magic to be able to make that call yet.

Unfortunate. That would have to be fixed as soon as possible.

The image was clear, perfectly captured. His lips on hers, kiss upon kiss. It was strange, watching such an intimate moment come alive on a paper, knowing that thousands of people had watched too.

It wasn't bad, though. Not at all. Those herbivores were so obsessed with his shikā, it was only right that they knew who she belonged with.

 _You're such an arse - I bet you find this whole situation pleasing in your demented little way._

Well. Never let it be said that Harry didn't know Kyoya very well at all.

 _Stop smirking._

Very well, indeed.

The rest of the cover page was written by one Rita Skeeter, of whom was declared to be "critically acclaimed" at the bottom of the page, though Kyoya had to wonder as to how much of that reputation was due to bowing down to those of higher status rather than her nonexistent writing skills.

The words themselves had barely any substance to them - the sources were flimsy at best (Kyoya knew that his shika only had about five legitimate friends and nonek of those friends were named in the article, which was littered with the names of attention-seeking herbivores that quite obviously knew nothing about her) and an elaborate vocabulary of unnecessary adjectives served to feign sophistication when, again, there was nothing beyond fanciful guesswork and attempts at starting idiotic rumors.

The article began by claiming him as Japanese wizarding nobility, which was partially correct, nationality-wise, but already served to make him want to go bite someone to death - if Japanese wizards were anything like the vast majority of those found in Britain, then he would rather die than be associated with them.

At least it would be less embarrassing.

The article didn't even mention his name, yet it referred to these baseless accusations as fact. Did these creatures not care for evidence? For truth?

No, of course not, if they believed that _an honest to kami infant_ , not even an Arcobaleno, could possibly defeat an even slightly competent criminal of high ranking.

Honestly. There were brainless idiots and then there was Wizarding England.

Kyoya skimmed over the rest of the article, taking a long sip of his tea. Not only was Harry stuck in that pit of vipers as they desperately tried to sink their teeth into her skin and suck out all the life in her as if that would bring them their undeserved salvation, but worse yet, she had no real defense against them either.

Mentally, yes, she was strong, he would have never paid her any attention otherwise. But what he could glean from the accounts of the many dangerous situations that Harry had shared with him in her previous letter, it seemed as though his shika was skating by on pure talent without any formal training, much like he had years ago.

That was unacceptable.

The obvious solution would be to train her, but unfortunately he has much to do in Italy, having been absent for so long, and he couldn't think of an even remotely dependable tutor for her that was anymore free than he was.

His shika wasn't defenseless, nor was she stupid. He could easily outline a training regiment and send along a few books on forms to help her along the way - he already did, actually - but training was nowhere near as effective without a sparring partner.

But then again, she did have a nearly unlimited supply of herbivores to practice her skills on at any given time… if he could convince her to do so, that is. Which he probably couldn't, Harry is very endearingly stubborn.

Ah well, he's sure that the herbivores themselves will do a much better job of convincing her to resort to violence than he could in a mere letter.

 _By the time we see each other again, shika, I expect you to be more than just a mere challenge._

Kyoya's lips twitched upwards. Now this will be interesting, indeed.

* * *

Honestly, if there was anything that Kyoya hated more than being stuck at a desk doing paperwork of all useless things, then it was being stuck at a desk doing paperwork whilst being dragged into a conversation.

"Leave," Kyoya demanded flatly. The room's other occupant just laughed at him, the irritating idiot. "Nope, not until you tell me all about your new extreme love life, Hibari!"

Kyoya would be the first to admit that there are very few people that he actually respects. Sasagawa Ryohei is one of those people.

Though the blonde may be too loud, and too much of a gossip monger, and has this terribly annoying habit of mothering everyone around him like an overzealous sibling, he is tolerable.

After all, Kyoya is well aware of the intricacies of Sun-healing ( _as if he would ever let someone do anything to him without his full knowledge of the process_ ), the near-inhuman precision required to keep from causing cancer or inducing an auto-immune disorder in the patient.

Any competent healer had to have an impressive intellect and an even more impressive sense of discipline to be able to do their job.

Sasagawa, with his single-minded devotion to the art, was inarguably the best healer alive, if only because of the profession's high mortality rate - having even one healer, much less Vongola's several, was considered to be a highly sought-after advantage for any organization. If a healer couldn't be swayed then they would often be assassinated - it was, after all, best to eliminate any possible advantage the enemy may have before it can be used against you.

As such, Kyoya finds it easy to respect the other man - to be able to excel in both fighting and healing is no small feat and the hard work that it takes to maintain both proficiencies is something that he can appreciate.

However, that still doesn't mean that Kyoya was going to appreciate any of this ridiculousness.

"I fail to see how that has anything to do with you."

Sasagawa found this response to be ever-more amusing. Kyoya wondered if it was worth getting up to go get any extra piece of paper to gag the idiot with, or if the inevitable destruction of his office was worth the satisfaction of beating the blonde to submission and kicking him out into the hallway. "It has to do with me because we're friends and friends talk about this kind of thing all the time."

"We have different definitions of the term 'friends', if that is the case." He could easily guide Sasagawa's punches away from his desk. But that vase on the shelf nearby was a favorite of his, liberated from the now deceased head of a yakuza group that dared to encroach on his territory.

Decisions, decisions.

"Well, duh. You're too emotionally retarded to have a good idea of what friends really are anyways, beyond the fact that they're always extremely there for you and that you're supposed to be able to trust them."

"That's all I need to know." Human interactions were never Kyoya's strong point, with a few exceptions. He usually just intimidated the person he was interacting with into submission and called it a day, a tactic that only ever fails with the idiots that refer to him as "family" and Rokudo.

Sasagawa shook his head fondly. "How are you in a relationship again?"

"You underestimate my ability to have a conversation with anyone worthwhile. The better question is 'how has your girlfriend resisted strangling you in your sleep thus far?'"

"And you're sure that you were sober when you first met this girl?" the Sun questioned skeptically. "You are an extremely chatty drunk, after all…"

Kyoya narrowed his eyes.

Fifteen minutes later, Sasagawa found himself lying in a heap in the hallway, the door slammed behind him.

Allies really did make for such good stress relief.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Hey everyone! It's been a while, I know, but hey, this story isn't dead!**

 **Even better yet, high school is officially over and I've received the opportunity to attend my dream university, so without that stress looming over my shoulders, I'm officially free to get back to a regular updating schedule until university starts up! Hurray!**

 **Finallt, I'd like to thank you all for your continued support. This story wouldn't be what it is now without all of your kind reviews, follows and favorites.**

 **Ciao!**


	24. Chapter 24

" _Indifference and neglect often do much more damage than outright dislike."  
_ ― _J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_

* * *

Harry stared at the book. And stared some more.

If she didn't know any better, then she would have said that the damn book was mocking her.

But then again, it _is_ a book that had been personally chosen and annotated by Kyoya of all people, so it might very well _be_ mocking her wizard-ness and the utter lack of sensible combat habits produced by said wizard-ness.

Ugh. Bloody Kyoya.

Of course, that isn't to say that any of the advice or instructions in the book were especially hard to follow, particularly what her significant other had pointed out and clarified, but the point still stood that it went against everything that she had learned in half a decade of magical education.

Worse yet, it forced her to realize that she _hadn't_ learned anything useful to keep herself alive at all in the entirety of her time at Hogwarts!

 _Unless you're feeling particularly inclined towards pulled muscles and sprains, always begin your training exercises with at least ten minutes of stretches,_ said a neatly inked note in the very beginning of the text.

Harry could practically hear the matter-of-fact, blunt intonation of his voice as she read the lines - it was comforting, really, as she made her foray into this new world of combat.

It really wasn't that Harry hadn't intended on following the advice - she _did_ , she swears, but there had been that one night when she had less time for training than usual, what with Snape's ridiculous homework assignments, but she hadn't wanted to skip it altogether. Survival is, after all, more important than any inconsequential inches of parchment.

So she had figured that it would have been fine to just… not stretch that night. She wasn't doing anything too complicated - just practicing a few blocks and dodge patterns with Hermione's direction in the Room of Requirement.

Alas, it hadn't been fine - for her shoulder at least, which had been far too stiff for any of the maneuvers that she had been practicing, as Hermione had continuously warned her about along with Kyoya's note. But of course, this is Harry we're talking about and Harry rarely ever really listens to the warnings of others, so she had ended up in the hospital wing that night with barely any training accomplished that night.

(And a sore dominant arm for writing the very same essays that had her rushing through her exercises for the night, but that's besides the point.)

(And a lecture in the somewhat distant future, as she had no doubts that Hermione would be tattling to Kyoya whenever the hell those two met, if only to ensure that Harry never did this again.)

(Harry _really_ hates her friends sometimes.)

Truly, it isn't the content that's giving Harry all this trouble.

It's her.

Harry hadn't realized it before, hadn't even thought to _think_ about it —

( _But why would she have? Why should she have? She was just a kid, damnit, she shouldn't have to -)_

— but she had grown complacent. Actually, it was more like she was _always_ complacent.

Harry had always listened to whatever it was that the adults, the professors, the Weasley's, Dumbledore, had told her to do - relax, enjoy herself, study magic, _save the entire bloody wizarding world_ \- and of all the things that she had been told to do ( _because it wasn't like she had ever learned that it was_ okay _not to listen and do as she was told, as if disobedience didn't just lead to_ punishment _and -_ ), absolutely none of them were to do anything to help herself outside of classes.

She was never told to study self-defense, to learn any magic other than what she was taught, to be able to _survive_ Voldemort - she was just told to go along her merry way, as if she were _normal_ , as if the threat wasn't always _right fucking there -_

Voldemort and Quirrell in her first year.

The diary in second year.

Third year's Death Eater.

Fourth year - the Triwizard Tournament ( _why_ hadn't _she received extra instruction that time again? She was so underprepared, she should have died!_ )

And of course, last year with Umbridge and Voldemort, again.

But then again, she supposes she _can_ appreciate the debacle of fifth year a little bit - at least Umbridge had been upfront about her attempts to turn everyone into harmless herbivores ( _bloody Kyoya_ ).

Regardless, for all that Harry likes to think herself above the classic sheep mentality of the wizarding world - above the same mentality that causes pureblood supremacy and discrimination against muggles, if there is one thing that this training thing has taught her, it's that she really, really isn't.

She never considered learning to physically defend herself.

 _Hey, I'm a witch! I have a wand! It totally isn't as if I could_ lose _that wand at any time at all! I absolutely don't need to know how to punch or kick or run properly._

 _Fist-fighting is for muggles, after all._

Merlin, she's so stupid. Maybe it's because she had spent so long being told over and over again that she is different from muggles, that that made her _disgusting_ and a _freak_ , that when she was finally told that being different was a _good_ thing and that it didn't make her a monster, she had embraced it with passion.

Too much passion.

And now, she realizes, she has been paying the price for it her entire life.

How easy would it have been to disarm Quirrell when she had been younger and then kick him in the shins? The weak man would have been down in seconds flat.

 _Stupid._

Harry sighed, placing the book back into Hermione's hands. Nodding to her friend, she settled into her kata and listened to Hermione's book-based critiques.

Ruminating over the past was useless for the moment - that could be saved for the middle of the night, when sleep evaded her as it so often did. For now, she had other things to focus on.

 _Oh, she will be more than just a challenge, indeed._

* * *

Between classes, Quidditch, training and avoiding annoyingly nosy people, Harry will be the first to admit that she hasn't had the most time for her friends aside from Ron and Hermione, and even that's only because they just so happen to often be in the same vicinity as her.

Case in point, Luna.

Being that they were in different years and houses, Harry rarely saw Luna outside of mealtimes before she found herself to be this busy, much less now.

Thus, it was a pleasant surprise when Harry ran into the other girl as she was heading to the owlery to send off yet another _I love you Kyoya but you are an utterly sadistic nutcase_ letter.

"Hello Harry," the blonde greeted, an excited tone invading her usual dreamy voice.

Harry was instantly on alert. If she had learned anything throughout her time spent with Luna Lovegood this summer, then it is that that particular tone _never_ means anything good. Or sane. Or particularly safe.

"I've decided that I'd like to sneak out of Hogwarts this weekend. Would you care to join me?" she continued on with pleasant innocence, as if she hadn't just suggested something that Harry would have only expected from the likes of Fred and George.

Well… what was a year in Hogwarts without any dangerous stunts and broken rules, anyway?

"Why is that even a question?"

* * *

 **A/N**

 **That stretching comment is totally an actual thing - there was this one time when I was late to fencing practice and missed stretches completely and it was probably the worst mistake of my life, especially since I'm terrible with doing them on my own.**

 **Aside from that, I'm not sure about whether or not I can keep up with a regular updating schedule between veterinary things, fencing practice and university work, but I'm certainly going to try. This was a quick update, but hopefully the next one will have more content to it.**

 **I've also made a foray into the Naruto fandom with my recently published story "my heart beats with the sound of yours" - so if you happen to be into that sort of thing, then please check it out! I would love to get more feedback on it.**

 **Til next time,**

 **Ciao!**


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